Astronomers predict rare Draconid meteor shower activity this fall

Astronomers from Novosibirsk State University predict an outburst of the Draconids meteor shower in October. This, as well as what other significant phenomena for observers should be expected starting in October, is in the MK article.

Amateur astronomers generally consider late summer and autumn to be the best time to observe the sky. The nights during this period are already quite long, compared to summer, and there is no noticeable cold weather yet, which allows for a long time to point the telescope lenses at celestial bodies, nebulae and shooting "stars".

Let us recall that this autumn began with a total lunar eclipse, which was observed on the night of September 7.

The next notable event should be the peak of the Draconid meteor shower, expected on October 8.

The Draconids are a stream of matter associated with the gradually disintegrating comet Giacobini-Zinner (21P/Giacobini-Zinner). Its radiant (the area in the sky from which we believe the "aliens" are flying to Earth) is located in the constellation Draco, which is clearly visible in the northern hemisphere in October.

The Draconids, unlike, for example, the active Perseids of August, are not marked by bright outbursts every year. This stream belongs to the so-called flare "star showers", that is, streams whose activity manifests itself only near the perihelion of its parent comet. That is, when passing Giacobini-Zinner on the closest segment of its orbit to the Earth.

For example, in 1933, 1946, 2011, 2012 and 2018 - the years of the Giacobini-Zinner perihelion - the Draconids produced real storms, when the activity of the stream reached hundreds of meteors per hour.

In 2025, comet 21P passes its next perihelion, and, as calculations show, the Earth will collide with fairly fresh cometary material ejected by the parent body in 2012.

This gives astronomers hope that a new surge in Draconid meteor activity can be expected on the peak night of October 8.

It would be difficult to call this phenomenon a strong storm, since the particles through which our planet will fly are not large in size. Nevertheless, at the maximum of the flow, it will be possible to count many celestial bodies burning up in the atmosphere, from several dozen to hundreds per hour.

Shortly after the Draconids, on October 21, another stream will head towards Earth - the Orionids. This "star shower" with a radiant in the constellation Orion originates from comet 1P/Halley, its maximum intensity is about 20-30 meteors per hour, and the meteors themselves are distinguished by their very high speed.

Following the Orionids, on November 17, the maximum number of Leonid meteors will appear in the sky, flying towards us from the constellation Leo. This stream usually produces no more than 10-15 falling "stars" per hour, but there are years when instead of a modest rain, a real star shower pours down on the Earth, 100-150 or more cometary particles per hour.

This is due to the passage of its parent comet Swift-Tuttle at perihelion.

In addition to "star showers," the autumn sky of 2025 promises to delight us with comets.

The brightest will be C/2025 A6 Lemmon, which can be observed in October-November in amateur telescopes and even binoculars.

The comet will be visible for about a week from October 15 to 22.

The second autumn comet will be C/2025 K1 ATLAS, which will only be visible through a telescope as it passes low over the horizon in the last days of October and early November.