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As we enter Autumn, before things start getting too chilly, we have a last chance to enjoy the sight of Fall-ing stars. Earth will fly through the debris of comet Giacobini-Zinner, forming the Draconid meteor shower from around October 6 through October 10.
In 2024, try watching in the evening of October 8, as soon
as the sky gets dark, and through until around 3 AM. The moon shouldn't
interfere with your viewing, much. It doesn't rise until around 2 AM.
The Draconids have a reputation for being less than intense, but it's
worth watching for the meteors anyway -- sometimes this meteor shower can surprise you.
While the best time to view most meteor showers is between midnight and dawn,
the Draconids is the exception: You should start watching as soon as the sky
gets dark.
Find a place with dark skies, and set out a sleeping bag. Climb in
and watch. The meteors will appear anywhere in the sky, but their
trails will mostly tend to track back to near the constellation Draco,
which will be high in the northwestern sky at nightfall.
Why is this meteor shower called the Draconids? Well, if you trace each meteor track backwards, they appear to radiate from the constellation Draco. (At this time of year, Draco is high in the northwest sky in the early evening.
To view a meteor shower, find yourself a dark location (away from lights) with a good view of the sky. Although the shower radiant is in the eastern sky, you will want to view as much of the entire sky as possible. The meteors don't usually appear in the radiant itself.
Get a lawn chair and sleeping bag, and just "space out", taking in the night sky as a whole. Or, you might take the opportunity to drag out your telescope (or even just your binoculars) to view some astronomical objects, in between your meteor observations. With simple binoculars, you should easily be able to see Jupiter's moons. And Saturn will also be up, to keep you company.
Don't try to use the binoculars or the 'scope to observe meteors -- they are too unpredictable, and move too fast.
You can find more details at the EarthSky.org Draconids page.
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