by tte-77
Taken from yaska77′s Astronomy Events – October 2011 post.
Saturday 8th October – The annual Draconid meteor shower (also known as the Giacobinids) should reach its peak this evening (the height of activity expected between 16:00 and 22:00 UTC/GMT), with calculations suggesting we could be in for an outstanding display. The ZHR (Zenithal Hourly Rate) could range from a few tens of meteors per hour to several hundred
Here is a little extra on the Draconid meteor shower to help with locating Draco the Dragon, the Dragon’s eyes and the showers radiant point.
The Draconid meteor shower is an amazing cosmic phenomenon - Credit: meteorshowers.org
The Draconid meteor shower generally favours northerly latitudes. The best viewing of the meteors will mostly be at early to mid evening on Saturday 8th October – this is when the radiant point for the shower located in the constellation Draco the Dragon will be highest in the sky for that night. The most meteors tend to fall when radiant point is highest in the sky.
Although it is not essential to identify the meteor shower radiant to watch the Draconids as they streak all over the sky, doing so does allow you to trace the paths of the meteors backward – you will notice how they appear to radiate from the Dragon’s head!
See the image below to locate the Dragon’s eyes. Locate the two brightest stars in the constellation (Eltanin and Rastaban) to see the radiant point of the Draconid meteor shower.
The sky at 20:00 UTC/GMT 8th October 2011 showing the constellation of Draco to the north west (click to enlarge) - Credit: Stellarium/Sky-Watching
The radiant will fall downward during the night reaching its lowest point around dawn, as seen from all points in the northern hemisphere.
So from early to mid evening on Saturday will probably provide the greatest number of meteors with the 2011 shower possibly producing a meteor storm of several hundred meteors per hour at its peak! The best locations are said to be Europe, North Africa and the Middle East. The one downside is that in the south there will be a bright moon with its light possibly affecting the view of the shower.
Get outside if you get a chance and go view!
Filed under: Astronomy, Meteor, Night sky, tte-77 Tagged: 2011, 8th October, annual, bright, draco, draconid, dragon, dragons eyes, Europe, event, eyes, Giacobini-Zinner, image, location, meteor, Meteor Shower, Moon, Night sky, Northern Hemisphere, october, peak, postaweek2011, radiant, shower, Sky, sky at night, UK, waxing gibbous, where in the sky can i see the draconids shower
