Meteors falling from the sky has mesmerized people since the beginning of time. There are a few major meteor showers every year and this new moon October 8th you will have the opportunity to see the peak of the Draconoid Meteor Shower. This year you can expect a few slow-moving meteors every hour, making it a mysterious and unpredictable cosmic show. However, the best part is that they will be fully supported by the new moon. The sky will be darker earlier, allowing the meteors to be visible and look brighter on Earth.
The Draconoid meteor shower will last from October 6th to 10th total, so if you missed its peak on the new moon, you will still have a few days to marvel at it.
What Are The Draconoid Meteor Showers?
Meteors are basically space rocks that came to close to Earth. When they enter the Earth’s atmosphere, the friction of going at 37 miles per second results in them looking like falling light—at least that is the speed of most meteors. The Dracanoids are more slow-moving and they fall at about 28 miles a second.
Technically, when they are still floating in space, they are meteoroids. As soon as their reach Earth’s atmosphere they become meteors. They are also the same thing as the shooting stars people often make wishes on.
Meteors are usually not bigger than a boulder and burn down before reaching the surface of Earth. On a rare occasion that one does fall on Earth, it is then called a meteorite.
Meteors can be visible at any time of the year, but when there is many of them at once, they become what is called a meteor shower.
The Draconoid meteor showers got its name because they appear to be falling from the direction of the constellation Draco “The Dragon” and they follow the trail of comet named 21P/Giacobini-Zinner.
They will be most visible in the Northern Hemisphere—Canada, the U.S., Europe, and Northern Asia.
It is interesting to note that the Draconoid meteor showers are rather new to us. Modern science first noticed this pattern less than a century ago. Some years, these meteors produce several of meteors every hour like it happened in 1933 and 1946. This year the estimate is about 10 every hour—but according to scientists this prediction can easily change.
This year because of the new moon, the meteors will be most visible. The Draconoids may also be brighter than usual because their comet just passed close to the sun on September 10. They will be the most spectacular in the early evening.
How To Watch Meteor Showers?
Best news is, you need no special equipment to watch meteor showers, as they are visible with a human eye.
You want to get away from light pollution of big cities as much as possible, and go the countryside where the sky is the darkest.
Be prepared to stay and observe the sky for at least one hour, because your eyes need 20 minutes to adjust to seeing in the dark.
Spiritual Meaning of Meteor Showers
Meteor showers in spiritual beliefs is a combination of chaos and unpredictability as well as hope and light that lights your path. It may be a sign of unexpected events in your life, so prepare yourself for change. When you watch every meteor fall, think about which changes you would like to see.
Other Major Annual Meteor Showers
While according to NASA, here is the list of all annual meteor showers:
- Quadrantids in December/January.
- Lyrids in April.
- Perseids in August.
- Orionids in October.
- Leonids in November.
- Geminids in December.
Put those in your calendar and create watching parties with your community.
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Source: spirit science