St. Louis Science Center: Astronomy Fact Of The Day: October 8, 2021

Press release from St. Louis Science Center:

October 08, 2021

Tonight is the peak of the Draconid Meteor Shower. The Draconids are a variable meteor shower cause by comet 21P/ Giacobini-Zinner. Most years the Draconids, will not produce many meteors but it does periodically have outburst years with visible rates up to 1000 meteors per hour. This typically happens when the source comet reaches perihelion near the shower’s peak. This last happened in 2018 and the comet will reach perihelion again in 2025. To see the Draconids look for the constellation Draco in the north after sunset.

This press release was produced by St. Louis Science Center. The views expressed here are the author’s own.