Draconid Meteor Shower will peak on Friday
The Draconid Meteor Shower is set to peak on Friday evening, sending up to 10 shooting stars flying through skies over the UK every hour.
The annual display will be most visible in the Northern Hemisphere after nightfall tomorrow (18:56 BST), in clear skies and away from sources of light pollution.
Meteor showers are caused when the Earth travels through a cloud of cometary debris, putting on a light show for viewers on the ground.
The Draconid Meteor Shower comes from the debris of comet 21 P/ Giacobini-Zinner – a small comet with a diameter of 1.24 miles (2 kilometers).
Giacobini-Zinner lays down fresh pieces of debris every 6.6 years as it passes on its orbit through the inner solar system, and the meteors come when Earth passes through this regularly topped up debris field.
However, bad weather threatens to hamper people’s chances of seeing the celestial display, according to the Met Office.
‘Viewing conditions of the meteor shower are not optimal over the UK, but there will be limited opportunities with cloud breaks in central and southern England tonight and perhaps greater chances tomorrow,’ said Met Office spokesman Grahame Madge.
‘Skywatchers in northern and western parts of the UK will be hampered by cloud and rain. Fog may also create local difficulties in other areas.
Meteor showers are caused when the Earth travels through a cloud of cometary debris. In this case, the Draconid Meteor Shower comes from the debris of comet 21 P/ Giacobini-Zinner. Pictured, the night sky over Russky Island during the Draconids
The shower will take place from October 7 to 11, but is expected to peak on the evening of Friday into Saturday.
To get the best possible view of Friday’s peak, find a place with clear skies and far from sources of light pollution like big cities.
There is no advantage to using binoculars or a telescope – observers just need to look up unaided and take in the widest possible view of the sky.
Generally, those in Northern America, Europe and Asia are the best situated to see the Draconids.
The best places in the UK include the renowned stargazing locations, also known as the three ‘Dark Sky Reserves – Snowdonia, Brecon Beacons and Exmoor national parks.
‘The Dracanoid shower will be visible to anyone with clearer skies,’ Annie Shuttleworth at the Met Office told MailOnline.
‘Those in southern parts of England and Wales away from any light pollution are most likely to see the shower.’
According to Shuttleworth, it will be be cloudy and wet across Scotland and northern Ireland with mostly cloudy skies across north Wales and northern England, meaning vision may be impaired in these places.
‘Anywhere south of a horizontal line through Aberystwyth to Norwich could see an hour or two of clear spells – but many in that area will have mostly cloudy skies,’ she said.
