In 2011, for example, stargazers in Europe were treated to six hundred an hour. Still, if you are going meteor hunting, there are some nice things about the Draconids if you're a patient and persistent stargazer. Even if the Draonids aren't exactly lighting the sky on fire, it's still a great time to go out stargazing with Mars shining bright throughout the night. So if you do manage to spot a shooting star later this week, you’ll be witnessing the results of a celestial event that occurred over a century ago. Draconid activity will be taking place in the evening after nightfall, when around five meteors will be visible every hour. How do spacecraft avoid asteroids and meteoroids? The Draconid meteor shower, for example, appears to come from the Draco constellation in the far northern sky. The meteor shower is set to reach its peak on 7-8 October, providing the skies stay clear. The best time to get out and see the Draconids is after the sun has set in the early evening. Where will Mars be in the Sky tonight and how can you see it? Nasa explains: ‘The Draconid meteors are caused when Earth collides with bits of debris shed by periodic comet 21P/Giacobini-Zinner (and that’s why this shower used to be called the Giacobinids). When you subscribe we will use the information you provide to send you these newsletters. How to see the Draconid meteor shower He says his recovery has been “glacial”. Read More Related Articles. The meteors will come from the direction of the Draco the dragon, the constellation from which they took their name. ‘The Draconids are one of those showers where you either see a bunch of them or none of them,’ Bill Cooke, a meteor expert with Nasa, told Space.com. Nudes of thousands of innocent women created by AI deepfake bot, will peak sometime during the night of October 8, Draconids meteor shower 2020 will peak tonight as shooting stars fill the sky, Draconids meteor shower: When to see shooting stars above the UK this week. This year, the annual Draconid meteor shower takes place from 6-10 October, with activity peaking on 7-8 October. A second meteor shower, the Orionids, will also take place later this month, peaking on October 22. This year, the Draconids meteor shower will peak in the early hours of Thursday, October 8. Have the first dust particles from interstellar space reached Earth? This celestial display is associated with the comet 21P/Giacobini-Zinner, which takes about 6.6 years to orbit the Sun. They can be seen in Northern America, Europe and Asia. This model contains information on the rate that these comets release material, along with the sizes, directions and velocities at which they are released, as well as the gravitational forces that determine their subsequent trajectories through space. Chromecast with Google TV (2020) review: Now with a remote! Axel Tuanzebe and Marcus Rashford starred in Man Utd's win over Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League. Plus, these models are partly based on difficult measurements of the meteoric particles in the Solar System, so their predictions are often only approximate. Get your need-to-know Debris left behind by this comet collides with the Earth’s upper atmosphere to burn up as Draconid meteors. Our daily newsletter arrives just in time for lunch, offering up the day's biggest science news, our latest features, amazing Q&As and insightful interviews. It usually peaks much later on in the month, around October 21. In 2011, for example, stargazers in Europe were treated to six hundred an hour. The Draconids is the first meteor shower of the month. ‘The number of meteor seen during the peak night varies quite a lot from year to year – usually there will only be around 5-20 meteors per hour visible but some years there have been reports of thousands per hour spotted.’. You should start looking for them anytime after dusk. Kepler Orrery IV ups the ante on hypnotic space videos, Entering a black hole might not be the end according to Stephen Hawking. The key is to start watching at nightfall - ideally from a dark, open country sky to avoid light pollution from cities and towns. The shower is … The Eta Aquarids in May is the other meteor shower … October is one of the last months where we know you'll get decent weather while out stargazing. The Draconids will peak later this week (Photo by Simon Robling/Getty Images) This week will see the peak of the Draconids meteor shower, the first of two showers taking place in October.