When to watch Draconid and Orionid meteor showers in October 2021

There are some interesting meteor showers to watch out for in October: the modest Draconid, which will warm you up for most impressive Orionid later in the month. Here’s how to see them both of the northern hemisphere.

How to watch the draconid meteor shower

Draconid meteor shower will peak Oct. 8 and until October 9. It’s a handy meteor shower, especially for parents, as the best viewing is right after dark on Friday, so you won’t have to get your child out of bed at four in the morning one evening. school for the best views.

Because the moon is almost new, the sky should be quite dark, but even with a darker sky, Draconid is usually not the more spectacular cosmic event. You can expect to see around five to ten meteors per hour. Some years, however, Draconid puts on a show with hundreds of meteors per hour crossing the sky. Will it happen this year? Probably not, but it is possible, and you won’t want to have missed it if it does.

Find the radiant point of the draconid meteor shower

While you should be able to spot shooting stars all over the night sky, the radiant point of the Draconid shower is near the head of the constellation Draco the Dragon. To find it, first locate the Big Dipper (look north, about a third of the way from the horizon to the top of the sky), then follow the Point of the Dipper to Polaris. Halfway between the cup lip of the Dipper and Polaris is the tip of Draco’s tail. Follow his body to the head, and here is the beaming point.

How to watch the Orionid meteor shower

The Orionid meteor shower is October’s most impressive cosmic spectacle, with up to 20 meteors visible per hour. Maximum sighting will take place Wednesday October 20 through Thursday October 21. The best time to observe is just before dawn, although Orionid meteors (caused by Eland passing through debris left by Haley’s Comet) will be visible throughout the month.

Unfortunately, the peak of meteor watching coincides with the hunter’s moon lighting up the sky, so the fainter meteors are unlikely to be visible, but the shooting stars you see will likely be impressive. About half of Orionid meteors leave trails across the sky that last a few seconds.

Find the radiation point of the Orionid meteor shower

Although visible all over the sky, Orionid meteors appear to radiate from the constellation Orion, an easy-to-find cluster of stars. Just look south (if you’re in the northern hemisphere) for the three stars that make up Orion’s belt, follow them up to the bright reddish star Betelgeuse, and you’re roughly looking at the radiant point of the orionid meteors—but given the moonlight, you are probably better off finding a dark area of ​​the sky instead of the radiating point.