Draconids Peak Monday: See The Meteors In St. Louis

ST. LOUIS, MO — The Draconid meteor shower is the sleepiest of the year, usually offering only a handful of shooting stars an hour. But it’s the one skygazers root and cheer for, perhaps in hopes of waking Draco the Dragon for a dazzling display. That’s rare — and there is only a sliver of a chance that will happen during the 2018 peak on Oct. 7-8 — but a new moon on the 9th guarantees the skies over St. Louis will be dark.

It all depends on the weather, of course. Peak activity for the Draconids is still a week/several days away, but the forecast for St. Louis says we should have a decent chance of catching some meteors: partly cloudy with a small chance of scattered thunderstorms.

If you're looking for a good place to watch, you may want to check out Brommelsiek Park in Wentzville. The park has a dedicated space for stargazing and is far enough away from big city lights that light pollution shouldn't be too much of an issue. The Astronomical Society of Eastern Missouri hosts public viewings every Friday, so if you're having trouble telling Ursa Major from The Big Dipper (trick question), you can find more information here.

The St. Louis Astronomical Society also hosts Wednesday night stargazing sessions at Francis Park in St. Louis Hills. "This event is scheduled near the First Quarter Moon each month, so we provide views of craters, mountains, and shadows on the Lunar surface," the group says. "Members of the St. Louis Astronomical Society also share telescope views of illusive Mercury, bright Venus, the Red Planet Mars, giant Jupiter, the ringed planet Saturn, and distant Uranus and Neptune when they are visible. You may even be able to see the moons of Jupiter and Saturn, or a distant double star."

The Draconids are the first of two meteor showers this month. The Orionids, which produce a more reliable shooting star show, peaks later in the month. They might produce a surprise this year — more about that in a bit.

The Draconids are such slow movers — crawling along, when compared with faster fireballs, at 40,000 miles per hour — and many burn out before they reach the Earth’s atmosphere. In typical years, the Draconid meteor shower produce about five falling stars an hour, but when Draco spits fire — as occurred in 1946, when observers across the western United States reported seeing thousands of fireballs an hour. In 2011, the Draconids produced a moderate outburst.

The Draconids are faint, and the casual observer might not notice them. Because they move so slowly, only the largest produce enough light to be seen.

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Those Draconid outbursts seem to occur only when the Earth passes just inside the orbit of Comet 21P/Giacobini-Zinner, the shower’s parent, shortly after the comet itself goes by, according to Joe Rao, a skywatching columnist for Space.com. This year, that happened on Sept. 10, which some experts said could make for at least elevated levels of meteors.

The neat thing about this shower is the meteors start flying right after sunset, unlike most showers, which are most active around dawn. They’ll continue to fly until around midnight. Sometimes called the Giacobinids, the Draconid meteor shower radiates from the fiery mouth of the northern constellation Draco the Dragon, which is highest in the sky at nightfall. The meteors seem to emit from Draco’s fiery mouth.

Orionid Meteor Shower Peak

If the Draconids disappoint, the Orionids will also fire this month from the 16th through the 30th, with peak activity occurring on Oct. 20-21.

The Orionid meteor shower occurs when the Earth passes through streams of pebble-sized pieces debris left behind by its parent, Halley's comet. They burn up when the hit the Earth’s atmosphere and appear as shooting stars.

SEE ALSO: 2018 Guide To Meteor Showers, Celestial Events

Some experts expect the Orionids to be better than average this year and produce more than the typical 10 or 15 meteors an our. On the downside, a waxing gibbous moon will create a glare that may blot out all but the brightest. You may be able to outlast the moon, though.

Earthsky.org suggests keeping your eyes peeled on the sky around midnight through dawn on Oct. 19-20, because there will be less moonlight as the moon sets — about four hours before sunrise on Saturday, Oct. 20, in mid-northern latitudes in North America, but only three hours before sunrise on Sunday, Oct. 21. You may even see a few on Oct. 22.

And here’s an added treat — a fantastic view of Sirius, the brightest night-time star. Watch for it in the south in the predawn/dawn sky.

Also this month, you’ll be able to gaze on four planets at dusk and nightfall throughout most of the month, though Venus, which lights up the western sky, dims as October rolls along. Jupiter shines directly overhead, and both Mars and Saturn glow in the southern sky at nightfall. Click the name of a planet to learn more about its visibility this month: Venus, Jupiter, Saturn, Mars and Mercury.

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