This week, Draconid meteor shower made a rare night-sky spectacle when sky watchers caught a glimpse of several shooting stars. The rare opportunity came Thursday and Friday and was best seen at nightfall instead of pre-dawn hours. The best viewing direction was due north.
So, what is a Draconid meteor shower? Here are 5 things you need to know about this annual meteor spectacle.
1. The Draconid meteor shower radiated out of the constellation Draco (the Dragon) near the triangle formed by stars Deneb, Altair and Vega. According to FOX News, about 10 to 20 meteors per hour was visibly seen during the Draconids.
2. While the Draconid meteor shower appeared to be coming from the constellation Draco, they are actually a result of Earth colliding with debris shed by Comet 21P/Giacobini-Zinner.
Space.com revealed the comet, which orbits the sun once every 6.5 years, ejected a stream of particles that intersects Earth's orbit, spawning the annual meteor display around 1900.
In addition, the comet was discovered by Michael Giacobini on Dec. 20, 1900, Time has learned.
3. Despite the fact that a meteor looks spectacular in the sky, the Draconid meteor shower does not have particles big enough to make it all the way down to Earth. These particles burn up high in the atmosphere and are generally slow moving, distinguishing them from other random meteors seen throughout the evening.
4. Even though the Draconid meteor shower often offers only a few, slow-moving meteors per hour, sometimes, however, the dragon comes to life and spews out hundreds, even thousands, per hour. Such a burst is not expected this year. However, Penn Live noted it's not entirely predictable.
5. Sometimes known as the Giacobinids, the Draconid meteor shower appear to emanate from the head of Draco, a Latin derivative name of the constellation. And since the moon was in waning crescent during the sightings, it provided a dark sky for the Draconids.
Meanwhile, the Draconid meteor shower was not the first to light up the skies this 2015. In August, we previously reported that stargazers in the northern hemisphere enjoyed the oldest meteor shower known to Earth, the Perseids. It occurs when pieces of comet Swift-Tuttle hit Earth's atmosphere at more than 133,000 mph and burn up. And on Oct. 21, the more famous Orionid meteor shower will also light up the skies.
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