Comet 21P (Giacobini-Zinner), source of the
Draconid meteors (photo source: NASA-JPL)
DRACONID METEORS: Every year around Oct. 8th, Earth passes through a minefield of dusty debris from Comet Giacobini-Zinner, source of the annual Draconid meteor shower.
This year, forecasters expect Earth to narrowly miss several of the debris streams, resulting in no appreciable display for 2010.
Next year, however, could be different. On Oct. 8, 2011, Earth will have a nearly head-on collision with a tendril of dust, setting off a strong outburst of as many as 750 meteors per hour. One year from now, sky watchers could see the strongest meteor shower since the Leonid storms a decade ago. Mark your calendars...
...And in the meanwhile for more information on this and much else, or to sign up for Space Weather's nifty, free alerts, visit...
This notice was sent out to those on the SpaceWeather feed late on October 7th.
I think there's a valid question to be asked here however...namely, what does it mean (metaphysically speaking) that Earth is not going to get a Draconid meteor shower this year?
Answering that will take a bit of research, so look for a post by the end of next week!
I think there's a valid question to be asked here however...namely, what does it mean (metaphysically speaking) that Earth is not going to get a Draconid meteor shower this year?
Answering that will take a bit of research, so look for a post by the end of next week!
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