Amateur stargazers are thrilled to experience a rare opportunity and watch an early evening meteor shower from the Northern Hemisphere.
While majority of meteor showers are best seen at dawn, or other inconvenient times of the night, the Draconid meteor shower is best visible at nightfall Friday evening and will last until October 8.
According to BuzzDuzz, the Draconid meteors do stand out for two reasons: They are the precursor to a slew of showers between now and the end of the year, and they are best viewed just after sunset, unlike most shooting star sessions.
The Draconid meteor shower produced awesome meteor displays in 1933 and 1946, with thousands of meteors per hour seen in those years. Five years ago-in October 2011-people around the globe saw an elevated number of Draconid meteors, despite a bright moon that night. European observers saw over 600 meteors per hour in 2011," the Earthsy.org told BuzzDuzz.
Interested observers will be able to catch the meteor shower across most of the continental United States, particularly in places with less light pollution. They should utilize binoculars since the meteors will be difficult to spot with the naked eye. City dwellers who love to have a good show should move away from urban light.
According to Travel and Leisure, Hurricane Matthew, a Category 3 storm that will make its way across the southern coast of the U.S. and some of the mid-Atlantic states, will obscure the shower in the regions where it is active.
The Draconid meteor shower happens every year as the Earth passes through the path of debris of comet 21P/Giacobini-Zinner. However, this year's show is not as striking as the previous years because of a bright moon. Scientists also still predict that viewers will be able to witness 10-20 meteors per hour.
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