14 DAY TRIAL // This year's Draconid meteor shower is expected to light up US skies on Monday, October 7. Astronomers say that, all things considered, there are high chances that some meteors will also be visible on Tuesday, October 8.
The shower is expected to also be visible in Canada, Europe and northern Asia.
When compared to other meteor showers, the Draconids are not all that impressive.
Thus, odds are that merely a handful or meteorites will be visible each hour on the evening of October 7. Even fewer will sweep the skies on Tuesday, astronomers explain.
EarthSky tells us that, although it seldom puts on a spectacular show, as other meteor showers do, the Draconids are nonetheless made special by the fact that, rather than being visible just before dawn, they are best seen in the evening, just after sunset.
According to the same source, the shower owes its name to the fact that the meteor's point of origin appears to be the constellation Draco the Dragon.
Astronomers explain that this meteor shower occurs when our planet's orbit crosses that of a comet dubbed Giacobini-Zinner. Thus, the Draconid meteors are actually debris left behind by this comet that, when entering Earth's atmosphere, heats up and burns.