Starwatch: Draconids meteor shower promises an early-evening treat

October is the beginning of the autumn and winter meteor shower season, which culminates in the Geminids in December. This week features the Draconids. It may not be a prominent shower, but it is observer friendly. Unlike most, which peak in the early hours of the morning, the Draconids are best in the early evening.

This is because the shower’s radiant, the point from which the meteors appear to emerge, is highest in the sky as darkness falls. The chart shows the view looking high into the north-western sky from London at 20:00 BST on 8 October, the night of peak activity.

Under a dark sky, it is usual to see just 10 meteors an hour. They are slow moving, and rather graceful. Unfortunately, the waning moon will interfere this year, washing out the fainter ones, but what keeps stargazers glued is the possibility of a storm.

Occasionally, the Draconids produce hundreds of meteors an hour. This is because they come from the tail of comet 21P/Giacobini–Zinner, which draws close to the sun every 6.6 years. If the comet arrives at this point near the time of the shower, chances are high that the meteors will storm. It was last at its closest approach in March, which could mean a better than average shower this year.