When are the Draconids?
The Draconids are active from about 5 Oct to 10 Oct each year and peak around 8 Oct. Up to about 3 meteors an hour at the peak under ideal skies (the zenithal hourly rate). For local times, the Moon and the best hours from your place, open the page for the year.
How to watch
Look in the evening, as soon as it’s dark: the radiant is highest at dusk and sinks through the night. In most years you’ll see only a few meteors, but the Draconids have surprised observers with sudden outbursts.
Get as far from streetlights as you can and give your eyes at least 20 minutes to adjust to the dark. Every glance at a bright phone screen resets that, so keep it away or use a red night mode.
Lie back on a reclining chair or a mat and take in as much sky as possible, looking about halfway up rather than straight at the radiant. Meteors can appear anywhere; the ones far from the radiant have longer trails.
You need no equipment. Binoculars and telescopes show only a tiny patch of sky, so they make you miss meteors. Dress warmly, even in summer, and plan to watch for at least an hour: meteors come in clumps and lulls.
Where do they come from?
The Draconids are debris from Comet 21P/Giacobini–Zinner, which returns every 6.6 years. Years when Earth meets a fresh dust trail from the comet can bring outbursts; famous storms came in 1933 and 1946.
Very slow meteors, at about 20 km/s.
- Parent body
- Comet 21P/Giacobini–Zinner
- Speed
- 20 km/s
- Radiant
- Draco
- Best seen from
- Northern Hemisphere
Questions
Why watch the Draconids in the evening?
How many meteors will I really see?
What is the radiant?
Do I need a telescope or binoculars?
Sources: Global Meteor Network (CC BY 4.0); Moorhead, Clements & Vida 2022 (CC BY 4.0); NASA Meteoroid Environment Office (no NASA endorsement implied). Dates computed by SkyMate from solar longitude. Data & Licences