The radiant point for the Draconid meteor shower almost coincides with the head of the constellation Draco the Dragon in the northern sky. That’s why the Draconids are best viewed from the Northern Hemisphere. The Draconid shower is a real oddity, in that the radiant point stands highest in the sky as darkness falls. That means that, unlike many meteor showers, more Draconids are likely to fly in the evening hours than in the morning hours after midnight. This shower is usually a sleeper, producing only a handful of languid meteors per hour in most years. But watch out if the Dragon awakes! In rare instances, fiery Draco has been known to spew forth many hundreds of meteors in a single hour. In 2015, the waning crescent moon rises at late night and will not intrude on this year’s Draconid shower. Try watching at nightfall and early evening on October 7 and 8.
Our meetings on the second Sunday of the Month, The events are normally held evening at 7:00 pm in Research Hall Room 163 on the campus of George Mason University.
Our meetings web page, has directions and additional details.
We look forward to seeing you on Sunday evenings!
This shower runs annually from October 2 to November 7. It peaks this year on the night of October 21 and the morning of October 22. The Orionids are meteors left behind in the wake of Halley’s Comet.
For more information on the event and the flyer –Â http://www.novac.com/wp/outreach/stargaze/
See front page of NOVAC Site for changes to event.
More information about Great Meadow including directions and parking visit the Great Meadow Site page.