It’s not too important to find the constellation exactly, especially because the brighter meteors tend to be seen further from the radiant. While Draco is hard to find, you can get pretty close if you look for the Little Dipper or Ursa Minor in the sky. “Draco” refers here to the International Astronomical Union designation of this sky region, by the way you may have a different designation in your own country or culture. The meteors appear to come from the head of Draco (the Dragon), which is best visible in the northern hemisphere. 1946 was also a good year for the Draconids, where 50-100 were seen per minute in the U.S.,” NASA reports. “During its peak in 1933, 500 Draconid meteors were seen per minute in Europe. And helping to drive the interest were at least two spectacular Draconid shows in the mid-20th century, when the dust stream was positioned advantageously to Earth’s orbit. The comet was found at a time in science history when astronomers were learning how meteors and comets were related. It has a 6.6-year orbit around the Sun and will make its next close approach in March 2025. As a result, the comet now bears two names: 21P/Giacobini-Zinner. Then, in October 1913, German astronomer Ernst Zinner reconfirmed the comet’s existence. The comet that generates the meteors was found on December 20, 1900, by French astronomer Michel Giacobini. Reinhold Wittich/Stocktrek Images/Stocktrek Images/Getty Images HOW OLD IS THE DRACONID METEOR SHOWER?Īccording to EarthSky, the Draconids (previously called the Giacobinids) were not reported until the 21st century. That dust becomes our natural light show from the heavens.Ĭomet 21P/Giacobini-Zinner, the origin of the Draconids. The force of the Sun’s gravity over the eons causes these little worlds to fall apart and leave a trail of dust in their wake. Comets and asteroids have been around in the Solar System for longer than planets.
When we see shooting stars or meteor showers, we are seeing the Solar System’s volatile history in action. When Earth and dust cloud meet, the results are generally harmless, often spectacular meteor showers, which blaze trails of light as the meteors enter and burn in our atmosphere. The dust in question is typically the waste debris left behind from comets (icy snowballs) or asteroids (space rocks). The Draconids, like all meteor showers, are generated when streams of interplanetary dust essentially collide with Earth during our planet’s orbit around the Sun. But the meteor shower is always interesting due to its comet origin story, as NASA explains. The Moon will try to take the Draconids’ limelight this year, as it is still in its waxing gibbous phase. And this year’s opportunity for something truly rare is upon us: Look to the skies during the overnight peak on Saturday, October 8, and Sunday, October 9. Every so often, the Draconids show up and show out with a “storm” during which you might see many meteors every hour. Typically, they don’t put on the same glitzy display as the Perseids, but there’s always a small chance that this year might be different.
inetnum : 103.247.184.0 - Draconids are the dark horse of the annual meteor showers.role : Peakhour Technologies Pty Ltd administrator.
0 kommentar(er)
