If you’re out right after a dark Wednesday (October 8th), look for a chance to find a “fireball” as the peak of the annual Draconido meteor shower.
The meteor shower is predicted to produce only about 10 “shooting stars” per hour at peak that night, but Draconido is still a valuable skywatching event. This is because some of these meteors are very bright and dramatic, with the trail going on for about a second. It is also one of the most convenient time-ordered meteor shower peaks of the year for Northern Hemisphere observers.
Most meteor showers are at their best after midnight, with Draconide being a rare exception. That’s because in the sky in the Northern Hemisphere, they appear to come from the constellation Draco. Draco is a vast, lesser known constellations that bend around Polaris (north star) that marks the north celestial pole of Earth. It is around this point that the stars appear to be spinning, and as seen from the Northern Hemisphere, Draco is always empty. Most constellations will go up and down all night, making the sky the best in the darkest sky.
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According to the American Meteor Society, draconides are extremely diverse. They can dramatically burn just a few meteors and, in rare cases, flares. When the full harvest month rises early in the week, the night sky is bleached. Therefore, only the brightest fireballs can be cut out.
The source of Draconide is the comet 21p/giacobini-zinner, which loops through the inner solar system every 6.5 years, leaving behind a portion of ice debris that follows.
There are other reasons to look north on October 8th. There is a possibility of intense aurora. It could be twice as likely as early October, with Equinox on September 22nd. The equinox causes the Earth’s magnetic field and solar winds, making the earth’s magnetic storms more common and stronger. For the latest predictions that can change suddenly, keep an eye on NOAA’s 30-minute prediction and skywatching sites like Spaceweatherlive.com.
October 8th is the right time to start searching for two comets right after sunset. It is the comet Lemon in the sky in the north (C/2025 A6) and the Swan R2 in the west (C/2025 R2). Both comets are visible through skywatching binoculars or backyard telescopes, and may even be able to find comet lemons in comet eyes in the coming days.
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