BSU Astrophysicists Provide Insights on the Upcoming Draconid Meteor Shower
The Draconid meteor shower will be active on the nights of October 8–9.
According to the Department of Astrophysics of the Faculty of Physics at Baku State University (BSU), the source of this meteor shower is comet 21P/Giacobini–Zinner. The comet was discovered by French astronomer Michel Giacobini in 1900 and later rediscovered by German astronomer Ernst Zinner in 1913. It orbits the Sun once every 6.6 years. Each time the comet completes its orbit, the dust and gas it leaves behind intersect with Earth’s orbit, resulting in the Draconid meteor shower.
Unlike many other meteor showers, the Draconids move slowly and often produce bright, long-lasting trails in the night sky. Their usual activity rate is around five meteors per hour, with an average speed of about 20 km/s. However, the Draconids are known for their rare but spectacular outbursts—in 1926, 1933, 1946, and 2011, observers recorded thousands of meteors per hour.
This year, the Draconids are expected to reach their peak activity between 7:30 p.m. and 11:00 p.m. on October 8–9.