Look To The Sky! Draconid Meteor Shower Currently At Its Peak
Oct 9, 2019, 9:31 AM | Updated: 9:33 am
FILE PHOTO — The Eta Aquarid meteor shower peaks the first weekend of May in 2024. (FILE)
(FILE)
SALT LAKE CITY, Utah – It may be cloudy for most of the night, but the sky should clear up in the early morning hours of Thursday just in time to catch the tail end of Draconid meteor shower.
According to EarthSky.org, the best time to catch Draco the Dragon spitting out meteors is as close to nightfall as possible.
Here’s a detailed view of the radiant point of the Draconid meteor shower, which probably peaks this evening, in the light of a bright moon. Read more https://t.co/ADoIohypWM pic.twitter.com/m3su1emtJv
— EarthSky (@earthskyscience) October 8, 2019
The Draconids are “typically a very modest shower,” according to EarthSky, and unfortunately the bright moon could drown out many of the meteors.
However, there have been years where the Draconid produced amazing displays, including in 2011 when European observers saw more than 600 meteors per hour.
With the bright moon and cloudy skies, Utahns might not get as big of a show as they’d like, but it’s worth a look to the heavens if you happen to be outside.
