The Draconids for Kids
Next peak · 343 nights to go
Night of 8–9 October 2027 · Moon 66% · Quiet
A quiet one. Look at the Moon instead.
This is the one shower that is best before bedtime.
The next Draconids peak is the night of 8–9 October 2027. A 66% Moon is up for part of the night. Verdict: quiet. A quiet one. Look at the Moon instead. At best a dark sky gives about 10 an hour, by the American Meteor Society's calendar; the Moon is from astronomy-engine.
The Draconids come in the evening, not late at night. That makes them good for kids. They are slow and few.
Most showers are best after midnight, but the Draconids are best just after dark, because their radiant is high in the north-west in the evening. Most years they are quiet, a few an hour, and the meteors are slow.
Comet 21P/Giacobini-Zinner's stream usually gives fewer than 10 an hour, but it has stormed: in 1933 and 1946 people saw thousands. Its meteors are among the slowest, about 20 kilometers a second. The comet comes back about every six and a half years, and the big showers came in years when Earth passed close behind it.
Draconid meteors are so slow you can sometimes say "there" before one finishes.
Which way to look, and when
North-west, high in the early evening.
Best in the evening, just after dark: the kids' shower. Active 6 to 10 October.
Where does it come from?
The Draconids are dust from Comet 21P/Giacobini-Zinner. The bits hit the air at about 20 kilometers a second and glow as they burn up. The streaks seem to start from Draco, the long line of stars in the north, which is how the shower got its name.
Every peak in our table
| Night of 8–9 October 2027 | Quiet. A 66% Moon is up for part of the night. |
|---|
Some calendars give a peak one night either side; a shower is active for days around it, so the nights next to the peak are worth a look too.
How to watch
- Go out with a grown-up, dressed warmer than you think, with a blanket or a reclining chair.
- Put phones away and give your eyes twenty minutes to get used to the dark.
- Look up at the whole sky, not at one spot, and count every streak you see.
The shower night kit
One sheet to take outside: a box for every ten minutes, a line for the brightest one, and a tick for the clouds. Counting is the game.
The Draconids: my shower night
Peak: the night of 8–9 October 2027. Look up at the whole sky. The streaks point back to Draco, the long line of stars in the north. peabody.kids/space/showers/draconids
☐ Warm coat and hat ☐ Blanket or chair ☐ Grown-up ☐ Phones away for 20 minutes
| Ten minutes from | Shooting stars I counted (|||| ||) |
|---|---|
| ____ : ____ | |
| ____ : ____ | |
| ____ : ____ | |
| ____ : ____ | |
| ____ : ____ | |
| ____ : ____ |
The brightest one went from ________________ to ________________.
Clouds? ☐ none ☐ some ☐ lots · My total: ______
If the sky is clear. Peak night and rate: American Meteor Society; the Moon: astronomy-engine.
Other showers
“Don't look at one spot. Lie back and let your eyes take in the whole sky.”