Sunday evening will be best time to view Draconid meteor shower
MIAMI - If you were planning to enjoy a vibrant meteor shower this weekend, mother nature may have different plans for you.
The annual Draconid Meteor Shower will be at its peak this Sunday, October 9th.
The forecast for South Florida does not look cooperative though.
Clouds & showers are expected just as the best viewing, Saturday evening, arrives and if that isn't enough to hide the shower, the Full Hunter's Moon arrives on Sunday to help drown out the brightness.
The Draconids are not nearly as spectacular as the Perseids in August, but if you could see them this year, you might see as many as ten per hour.
Some years have presented hundreds or even thousands of meteors per hour. That would be referred to as a meteor storm but it hasn't happened since 1933 & 1946.
The comet responsible for the Draconid meteor shower is called Giacobini-Zinner which orbits the sun every 6.6 years.
When the Earth travels through its debris, we see the tiny specks of light zip across the sky in any direction, but the radiant, or center point, is located in the northern sky & at its highest point at nightfall.
That's why the best time to view the Draconids isn't after midnight, it's in the evening.
Here are a couple of tips for viewing a meteor shower.
- Get away from the city lights
- Bring a lawn chair
- Sit back, look up, & enjoy the show!