When and where you can observe meteors

Residents of North Rhine-Westphalia will soon have a few wishes: Stars are expected to appear in the night sky for five days. They come from the Draconid meteor shower that is active from Friday, October 6 to Tuesday, October 10. It is supposed to reach its maximum next Monday – depending on weather conditions. What to know about the celestial landscape.

Shooting star hunters should look for a dark observation spot with a good sweeping view of the sky. You can make yourself comfortable on a lounge chair or on a blanket, “because you can see most of the meteors when you look up,” says Rolf Werder of the Neanderhöhe Hochdal Observatory in Erkrat. It is recommended to look towards the North Star in the north. The best view is about 45 degrees from the Draco constellation. You also need patience when searching for meteorites. In principle, meteors can appear throughout the night, explains the expert.

The chances of seeing meteors are greater in rural areas. “Get out into the country. The skies there are dark enough to be visible,” says Werder. For example, the Eifel, Sauerland or North Lower Rhine regions are good options. However, in general, it is too bright in large cities to This phenomenon can be seen. Werder says this is due to light pollution, dust in the air and increased humidity in the fall.

The sky should be as clear as possible. Werner says clouds or fog can impair visibility. “The conditions for observing meteors during the four nights in the southwest, in the Eifel, are better than in the northeast of North Rhine-Westphalia,” says Ines von Hollen, a meteorologist at the German Weather Service (DWD) in Essen. To the southwest there are fewer or no cloud fields and the influence of pressure is less. “In the northeast, you can probably see the moon and stars through the cloud cover, but that’s difficult with meteors,” von Hollen explains.

Compared to meteor streams from previous years, a small amount of dracids are expected. According to the annual calendar of meteor showers prepared by the International Meteor Organization (IMO), a maximum of five meteors per hour can be expected in October 2023 under solid weather conditions. “Dragonians are very slow,” says Rolf Werder.

This year, the maximum is expected to be reached on Monday, October 9. The expert at the Neanderhöhe Observatory Hochdahl assumes that the event could definitely happen on the night of October 8 to October 9. “But it is also possible that there will be a maximum of star showers only in the morning. “Then this phenomenon will not be visible with the naked eye,” says Werder. The current phase of the moon can also cause difficulties: if the moonlight is too bright, it also affects Dragon vision, as Werder explains.

The source of the Draconid star streams is the Draconid constellation. It is located in the northern sky near the Little Dipper, which is colloquially called the Little Dipper. The dragon’s head consists of the two bright stars Itamen and Aloid, from which meteors appear to flow. Its source is said to be comet 21P/Giacobini-Zinner, which is why the meteor shower is also called Giacobinids. When dust grains penetrate the Earth’s atmosphere, amazing traces of light appear in the sky – meteors. Draconids are active only a few days a year.

The Draconids are a fuzzy stream of meteors, but they get stronger in some years – for example 2011. In that year, about 300 meteors per hour could be seen in the night sky. In 1933 and 1946, thousands of meteors per hour were observed, and in 1985 and 1998 several hundred Draconids per hour were counted. In 2005, there were only 40 meteors per hour.