The Draconids are here, the first meteor shower of autumn

Oct. 7 () –

On the night of October 8, the Earth will pass through a stream of dust coming from comet 21P/Giacobini-Zinner and the result will be the Draconid meteor shower.

Comet Giacobini-Zinner meteors They come from the northern constellation Draco. the Dragon, hence its name. The Draconids they are among the slowest meteors of all; they hit the atmosphere at 20 km/s, which is relatively slow. The slow pace of Draconid meteors makes them visually distinctive. “The smooth glide of a Draconid across the sky is a beautiful sight,” he says. it’s a statement Bill Cooke of NASA’s Meteoroid Environment Office.

The radiant point of the meteor shower almost coincides with the head of the Dragon constellation, in the northern sky, near the constellation Ursa Minor. It is not necessary to locate this constellation to see the Draconids. These meteors fly in all directions across the starry sky for virtually the entire night.

The full moon, October 9it will darken the night sky and weaken the visual signals of this meteor shower.