Meteors observed in Northumberland, England during the 2021 Carinaids meteor shower
PA Image/Alamy
This year, the Carinae shower will occur between October 6th and 10th, with its peak expected on October 9th. The Carinae shower is one of the least active meteor showers and can only be seen from the Northern Hemisphere. Even if you’re in the right area, it’s still worth seeing because the moon is in its waning quarter, so there’s little moonlight around its peak. If there is a dark sky and a clear sky, there will be about 10 meteors per hour.
What is a meteor shower?
Meteors are flashes of light caused by debris from space impacting the atmosphere. Those showers occur when Earth passes through a cloud of material left behind by a comet. These tiny dust particles and rocks enter the atmosphere at very high speeds, where friction with the air causes them to flare up and create flashes of light in the sky. Most of the debris that causes meteors is about the size of a grain of rice.
The Draconid meteor shower is caused by debris left behind by comet 21P/Jacobini-Zinner. This comet took about six and a half years to orbit the sun, and last passed by Earth in 2018. Because the meteors come from this comet, it is also known as the Jacobini meteor shower.
How can I see Draconid?
Like other meteor showers, you don’t need to pinpoint its source to see it. Meteors fly through the sky in all directions, and this meteor is named Draco, after the constellation from which it radiates.
The best way to observe is to choose a cloudless evening and go to a location free of light pollution. The best time is usually after midnight. Lie down or sit and look at the sky and wait for a flash of light to cross the sky. You’ll know if you’ve seen a meteor because it moves across the sky in seconds.
How do I find Draco?
One way to find the constellation Draco, where meteors radiate, is by using a cluster of stars called the Summer Triangle. It consists of her three bright stars, Altair, Deneb and Vega, which are visible in the eastern direction as soon as the sun sets. If you draw a line from Altair, the star closest to the horizon in the triangle, to Vega, the star in the upper right, and keep going, you will soon reach the constellation Draco.
Another way to find Draco is by using patterns within the constellation Ursa Major, specifically known as the Plow or Big Dipper. Follow the line connecting the two outer stars of the Big Dipper’s bowl to Polaris and Polaris. Once you reach the North Star, draw an imaginary line vertically and to the left. This points towards the constellation Draco.
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