This week the Draconids meteor shower will be active. Although this shower is not a blockbuster, it can produce up to 10 meteors per hour. The best viewing is in the early evening. With a new moon on Oct. 10, the sky will be very dark, providing good viewing conditions. Generally, you have to stay up late to see a meteor shower, but this one will start just after nightfall around 9 p.m. Look to the north.
You may also get to see meteors from the Southern Taurid meteor shower, which peaks on Oct. 10. Look to the eastern horizon from 10 p.m. to dawn the next day. The radiant point gets higher in the sky as the night turns into day, so staying up late, or getting up early, is your best bet for this event.
On October 21-22 the Orionid meteor shower takes over. This is a little more active – you could see up to 20 meteors per hour. This shower is produced by dust particles left behind by the comet Halley. This one will be later, and with a pretty bright moon it may be hard to see some of the faint meteors. But the moon will set at 2:20 a.m. so viewing in the very early morning may be your best bet
We wrap up with a full moon on Oct. 26. The October Moon is known as the Hunter’s Moon. It has also been called the Travel Moon and Blood Moon. It will rise at 6:13 p.m. If you can, catch the moonrise. Close to the horizon, the moon will look especially large and may have an orange tint. It will set at 9:18 a.m. on Oct. 27.
Text and photo by Anthony Burrows.