Draconid And Orionid Meteors To Light Skies Over Tewksbury

TEWKSBURY, MA — Meteor showers return to the skies over Tewksbury in October with the Draconids and the Orionids. You may hear a lot of buzz about a never-before-seen shooting star show known as the “Finlay-id meteor shower” that, while interesting, won’t be visible in the Northern Hemisphere.

The Draconids meteor shower, which runs from Oct. 6-10, is short-lived but is a favorite for many stargazers because the best viewing times are right after nightfall. In Tewksbury, the sun sets at 6:15 p.m. on Oct. 8, the night of the Draconids peak.

For a brief time, skywatchers could see meteors from both the Draconids and the Orionids.

The Orionids run from Oct. 2 to Nov. 7 but don’t peak until the predawn hours of Oct. 21. If you plan to be out and about to see this shooting star show, sunrise in Tewksbury is around 7:05 a.m. on Oct. 21, when the shower peaks in the pre-dawn hours.

The newly discovered Finlay-id meteor shower is expected to sprinkle miniscule pieces of dust from Comet 15P/Finlay above Earth’s southernmost regions for about 10 days, peaking on Oct. 7. It will appear over latitudes covered by the vast Southern Ocean, with very little land mass.

“That makes it not only an interesting meteor shower but also a very difficult meteor shower to observe,” Diego Janches, a research astrophysicist at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, told Space.com.

This meteor shower is a real puzzler. Janches told Space.com it’s likely a one-and-done meteor shower and that, even if it does occur again, it probably won’t be an annual event. It’s possible, Janches said, that a hidden pocket of dust from Comet 15/P Finlay may collide with Earth years from now, but no one knows when or if the meteors associated with the comet’s dust will ever fly again.

Space.com has much more on the Finlay-id meteor shower.

What To Expect From Draconids In Tewksbury

The thin crescent moon won’t interfere with your ability to see the Draconid meteor shower — a bit of a sleeper, typically offering a handful of meteors an hour.

The shower favors early-evening viewing because that’s when Draco the Dragon, the head of the constellation that is the shower’s radiant point, stands highest in the sky.

• Related: 2021 Guide To Meteor Showers And Other Celestial Events

The shower is sometimes called the Giacobinids because it’s produced by the ice and rock debris left behind by Comet 21P/Giacobini-Zinner, which orbits the sun about every 6.6 years.

In rare instances, Draco the Dragon awakens and may spew a thousand or more shooting stars an hour in what’s called a meteor storm or outburst. That happened in 1933, when 500 or more Draconid meteors were seen an hour in Europe. In 1946, between 50 and 100 Draconids were seen per minute in the United States, according to NASA.

Researchers at the University of Western Ontario in Canada predict Draconid outbursts in 2025 and 2029, but nothing out of the ordinary is forecast for this year’s meteor shower.

What To Expect From Orionids In Tewksbury

The Orionid meteor shower produces about 20 meteors an hour. The October hunter's moon is full on Oct. 20, one of the peak dates, so only the brightest meteors will be visible.

The Orionids, produced by dust grains left behind by the ancient comet Halley, appear to radiate from the constellation Orion the Hunter but can be seen anywhere in the sky.

Unlike the Draconids, the Orionids are best viewed in the pre-dawn hours. The Orionids are fast-moving and sometimes produce fireballs, which could be bright enough to overcome the glare of moonlight.

What’s Ahead On Tewksbury Meteor Shower Calendar?

Skywatchers will have several more meteor showers to pick from through the remainder of the year:

Taurids, Nov. 4-5 and again Nov. 11-12: This is a long-running minor meteor shower that produces only about five or 10 shooting stars an hour. It's unusual not only because of its duration — it runs from Sept. 7 to Dec. 10 — but also because it consists of two distinct branches: the South Taurids, which peak Nov. 4-5, and the North Taurids, which peak Nov. 11-12.

The southern branch of the Taurid meteor shower is produced by the dust grains left behind Asteroid 2004 TG10, and the source of the northern branch is debris left behind by Comet 2P Encke. Both streams are rich in fireballs. At the peak, a new moon will make for dark skies. The shooting stars appear to radiate from the constellation Taurus, but you'll be able to see them anywhere in the sky.

Leonids, Nov. 16-17: The Leonid meteor shower, produced by dust grains left behind by comet Tempel-Tuttle, runs annually from Nov. 6-30. The Leonids have a cyclonic peak about every 33 years, when hundreds of meteors an hour can be seen — as last happened in 2001 — but this will be an average year with about 15 shooting stars an hour at the peak. A nearly full moon will be troublesome, but the Leonids are known for producing particularly bright shooting stars that even bright moonlight can't blot out. The meteors appear to originate from the constellation Leo.

Geminids, Dec. 13-14: The Geminid meteor shower, which runs from Dec. 4-17, is one of the best shooting star shows of the year. Produced by debris left behind by the asteroid 3200 Phaethon, discovered in 1982, the Geminids produce anywhere from 50 to 120 multicolored meteors an hour at the peak. A waxing gibbous moon at the peak will block some out, but they are so prolific and bright that the 2021 show should be a good one. The meteors appear to radiate from the constellation Gemini, but you'll be able to see them anywhere in the sky.

Ursids, Dec. 21: The Ursid meteor shower runs from Dec. 17-26 and always peaks around the winter solstice. The Ursids are fairly low-key, delivering five or 10 meteors an hour, but on rare occasions can produce outbursts of 100 or more meteors an hour. The meteors appear to come from the Ursa Minor constellation.