If you love observing the night sky and looking out for the stars then October has an interesting astronomical event for you. Called the Draconids Meteor Shower, it will take place on the night of 9 October this year. Also called Giacobinids, it is a meteor shower whose parent body is the periodic comet 21P/Giacobini-Zinner. Not very intense but only about 10 meteors per hour can be seen during this meteor shower. We tell you more about the date, timings and places from where you can see these meteor showers.

Date and Time of Draconids Meteor Shower 2019

The Draconids meteor shower is usually active during October 6- October 10. This year the meteor shower will be at its peak on the night of October 8th and 9th. However, you can also see a bit of it on the evening of October 7. The shower is expected to reach peak activity at around 12:00 IST. It is said to be mild until 2.03 IST.

What Are Draconids?

Draconids earlier called as Giacobinids are dust grains left behind by comet 21P Giacobini-Zinner, which was first discovered in 1900. The comet takes about 6.6 years to make a single revolution around the Sun. The shower gets its name after the constellation Draco because of their point of origin.

In the past, Draconids are among the most spectacular meteor showers but since the year 2011, astronomers and regular sky gazers do not consider it as interesting as the other showers. This shower favours more for people living in the Northern Hemisphere, but Southern Hemisphere observers might catch some showers too.

During this Draconids meteor shower, the full moon will also be around the corner. So the moon will be shining bright which may limit the visibility of the meteors. To get a good view of the meteors, head to a dark spot away from the city.

 

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Oct 03, 2019 11:10 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).