Dragonid Meteor Shower: What, When and How to Watch Live

(CNN) – Keep your eyes on the night sky for the Draconite meteor shower, which is expected to peak Monday night and early Tuesday morning.

According to Earthsky, unlike many meteor showers, the Draconids don’t have to stay up late to see them because they’re most visible after dusk and in the evenings, not early in the morning, according to Earthsky. The moon is only 27% brighter in its current phase, allowing for better viewing of the faint meteors once night falls.

However, the Draconite meteor shower is rare. Expect a few meteors to cross the sky, up to 10 per hour. The peak of the meteor shower is expected to occur around 11 PM ET on Monday.

Meteor showers occur when our planet passes through the debris trails left by comets and asteroids, which eject chunks of rock and ice as they orbit the Sun. The Draconids are the result of Earth crossing the path of comet 21P/Giacobini-Zinner as it approaches the comet’s orbit each October.

The shower gets its name because the meteors appear to be coming from the direction of the constellation Draco (the dragon). But sometimes dragonids are referred to as Giacopinids, in honor of the comet’s discoverer, Michael Giacobini, who saw the celestial object in 1900.

Draconid meteors move more slowly than those seen during other showers, meaning they are visible for a second or two.

The prospect of seeing a flurry of Draconid meteors across the sky, known as a meteor storm, can be a fascinating prospect for stargazers. Although it was a “quiet” shower compared to some of the larger showers that typically produce more meteors quickly, the “Dragon” could be full of surprises later this year.

Meteor storms can occur when a comet’s debris accumulates near the comet, rather than dispersing, and passes through the Earth’s path. Hundreds or thousands of meteors are visible per hour during a meteor storm.

The Draconids caused a meteor storm in 1933 and 1946 with thousands of meteors per hour, and European skywatchers reported more than 600 per hour during the 2011 event.

Comet 21P/Giacobini-Zinner completes one orbit around the Sun every seven years, and the last time it came closest to Earth was in September 2018, when many saw it explode during a meteor shower. The comet’s next approach won’t occur until 2025.

According to Earthsky, viewers in the Southern Hemisphere will have a limited chance to see the shower after dark on Monday because the constellation Draco doesn’t actually rise above the horizon in that part of the world.

The best way to watch a meteor shower is to sit in a reclining lawn chair or lie on your back and look up at the sky with a wide view. No special equipment is required, but if you want the best viewing conditions, it helps to stay as far away from artificial light as possible.

If you live in an urban area, you may want to look farther away to avoid city lights that can obscure the meteor shower. Camping in rural areas can triple the number of visible meteors, NASA scientists say.

Don’t forget to take your camera before you go out. Meteor showers are a great opportunity for time-lapse videos and long exposure photography.

The next full moon, the Hunter’s Moon on October 17, will be a supermoon and will be the closest of the year at a distance of 357,428 kilometers.

The Beaver Moon will occur on November 15, and the last full moon of the year will be the Cold Moon on December 15.

Meanwhile, skywatchers can look forward to an active meteor shower season that ends in 2024. Here are the best dates for upcoming celestial activity, according to the American Meteorological Society: