Draconids

The October Draconids, in the past also unofficially known as the Giacobinids, are a Northern hemisphere meteor shower whose parent body is the periodic comet 21P/Giacobini-Zinner. They are named after the constellation Draco, where they seemingly come from. Almost all meteors which fall towards Earth ablate long before reaching its surface. The Draconids are best viewed after sunset in an area with a clear dark sky.

Draconids (DRA)
The 1933 Draconids storm
Pronunciation	/drəˈkoʊnɪdz/
Parent body	21P/Giacobini-Zinner[1]
Radiant
Constellation	Draco (constellation)
Right ascension	17.467h [1]
Declination	+54°[1]
Properties
Occurs during	October 6 – October 10
Date of peak	October 8
Velocity	20[2] km/s
Zenithal hourly rate	variable[1]
See also: List of meteor showers

The 1933^[1][3][4] and 1946^[1] Draconids had zenithal hourly rates of thousands of meteors visible per hour, among the most impressive meteor storms of the 20th century. Rare outbursts in activity can occur when the Earth travels through a denser part of the cometary debris stream; for example, in 1998, rates suddenly spiked^[5][6] but only increased modestly in 2005.^[7] A Draconid meteor outburst occurred^[8] as expected^[9][10][11] on October 8, 2011, though a waxing gibbous Moon reduced the number of meteors observed visually. During the 2012 shower radar observations (which detect smaller and fainter meteors) detected up to 1000 meteors per hour. The 2012 outburst may have been caused by the narrow trail of dust and debris left behind by the parent comet in 1959.^[12] A brief Draconids outburst is expected on October 8, 2025 lasting for a few hours with a ZHR up to approximately 400.^[13]

Draconid Outbursts

Date	Stream	ZHR
1933-Oct-09	1900	6000[1]
1946-Oct-09	1900	3000[1]
1952-Oct-09		174 (radar)[1]
1998-Oct-08		720[6]
2005-Oct-08	1946	150 (radar) / 40 (visual)[7]
2011-Oct-08	1900[14]	300[8]
2012-Oct-08	1959	1000 (radar)[12]
2018-Oct-08	1952	150[15]