{"id":790396,"date":"2026-10-03T06:06:21","date_gmt":"2026-10-03T06:06:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/790396\/"},"modified":"2026-10-03T06:06:21","modified_gmt":"2026-10-03T06:06:21","slug":"draconid-meteor-shower-2026-when-where-and-how-to-see-it","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/790396\/","title":{"rendered":"Draconid meteor shower 2026 \u2014 When, where and how to see it"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Draconid meteor shower will peak overnight on Oct. 8-9, 2026. Skywatchers can look forward to excellent viewing conditions (weather permitting) this year.<\/p>\n

The annual shower is active from Oct. 6 to Oct. 10, with the peak occurring under almost completely moonless skies, a welcome change from 2025 when a bright full moon washed out most of the meteors.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

The Draconids are typically a modest meteor shower, with a zenithal hourly rate (ZHR) of around five meteors per hour under ideal conditions. No enhanced activity is currently predicted for 2026, though the shower is notoriously unpredictable and has produced spectacular meteor storms in the past.<\/p>\n

The Draconids occur when Earth travels through a trail of debris left by Comet 21P\/Giacobini-Zinner. This comet, composed of ice and rocky fragments, orbits the sun <\/a>every 6.6 years. As Earth encounters this debris, the particles burn up in our atmosphere, creating the meteor shower<\/a>.<\/p>\n

In recent years, the Draconids have been relatively quiet, producing few meteors and no notable outbursts of activity \u2014 a far cry from the showers of old, when the Draconids produced some of the most impressive meteor showers of the 20th Century in 1933 and 1946. During these meteor storms, thousands of meteors were spotted every hour, according to the U.K. meteor network<\/a>.<\/p>\n

You may like<\/p>\n

Outbursts like those, and lesser ones in 1926, 1952, 1985, 1998 and 2011, seem “to occur only when the Earth passes just inside Comet Giacobini-Zinner’s orbit shortly after the comet<\/a> itself has gone by,” wrote Space.com skywatching columnist Joe Rao<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The Draconids are sometimes called the Giacobinids, after French astronomer Michel Giacobini who discovered the comet 21 P\/Giacobini-Zinner, according to Royal Museums Greenwich<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\"Space\"<\/p>\n

Where can you see the Draconid meteor shower? <\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\"A
\n<\/a><\/p>\n

This sky map shows the Draconid meteor shower’s radiant, or the point from which the meteors seem to originate. (Image credit: Starry Night Software<\/a>)<\/p>\n

Meteor showers<\/a> are named after the constellation from which the meteors appear to emanate. From Earth’s perspective, the Draconids appear to come approximately from the direction of the constellation Draco<\/a>, the dragon.<\/p>\n

Despite its size and designation as the eighth-largest constellation, Draco is not especially conspicuous. The name is derived from the Latin term “draco,” meaning “huge serpent,” and the constellation snakes its way through the northern sky.<\/p>\n

Draco constellation position:<\/p>\n

Right ascension: 17 hours<\/p>\n

Declination: 65 degrees<\/p>\n

Visible between: latitudes 90 and minus 15 degrees<\/p>\n

To best see the Draconids meteor shower, go to the darkest possible location, lean back and relax. You don’t need any equipment like telescopes or binoculars; the secret is to take in as much sky as possible and allow about 30 minutes for your eyes to adjust to the dark.<\/p>\n

What to read next<\/p>\n

If you want more advice on how to photograph the Draconids, check out our how to photograph meteors and meteor showers<\/a> guide and if you need imaging gear, consider our best cameras for astrophotography<\/a> and best lenses for astrophotography<\/a>.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\"Infographic
\n<\/a><\/p>\n

A red flashlight, warm clothing, hot drink and a comfortable chair come in very useful during a night of meteor-hunting. (Image credit: Future)When is the best time to view the Draconid meteor shower?<\/p>\n

The Draconids are a little different from many meteor showers, which are often best viewed in the early hours of the morning. The best time to start looking for the Draconids is in the evening after nightfall, when the shower’s radiant \u2014 the constellation Draco \u2014 is high in the sky.<\/p>\n

In 2026, the shower is expected to peak at around 9 p.m. EDT on Oct. 8 (0100 GMT on Oct. 9), according to Earth Sky<\/a>, with excellent viewing conditions thanks to an almost moonless sky. The new moon arrives on Oct. 10.<\/p>\n

Although the peak is typically your best chance of spotting Draconid meteors, you may still be able to catch the occasional shooting star between Oct. 6 and Oct. 10.<\/p>\n

What causes the Draconid meteor shower? <\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\"Landscape
\n<\/a><\/p>\n

This long-exposure image taken by Jesper Gr\u00f8nne in Denmark shows Draconid meteors streaking through the sky in October 2011. The Draconids were unusually active that year. (Image credit: Jesper Gr\u00f8nne)<\/p>\n

This all-or-nothing shower is caused by the comet P\/Giacobini-Zinner. The comet was discovered on Dec. 20, 1900, by Giacobini at the Nice Observatory in France. And later observed by Ernst Zinner on Oct. 23, 1913, according to NASA Science.<\/p>\n

The little comet measures just 1.24 miles (2 kilometers) in diameter and takes about 6.6 years to orbit the sun.<\/p>\n

Each time the “dirty snowball” returns to the inner solar system its nucleus sheds ice and rock into space into a vast debris stream. When Earth passes through the debris the “comet crumbs” heat up as they enter Earth’s atmosphere<\/a> and burn up in bright bursts of light, streaking a vivid path across the sky.<\/p>\n

Additional information<\/p>\n

Learn more about comet 21P\/Giacobini-Zinner with the comet observing website comet watch<\/a>. Explore the Draconids in more detail and see if they’ll be visible from your location with timeanddate<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Editor’s note: If you snap an amazing photo of a Draconid meteor or any other night-sky sight and you’d like to share it with Space.com for a story or image gallery, send images, comments and location information spacephotos@space.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Bibliography <\/p>\n

Bailey, D. 2022 draconid meteor shower. UK Meteor Network. Retrieved Oct. 3, 2022, from https:\/\/ukmeteornetwork.co.uk\/showers\/2022-draconids<\/a><\/p>\n

Draconid meteor shower 2022: When and where to see it in the UK. Royal Museums Greenwich. Retrieved Oct. 3, 2022, from https:\/\/www.rmg.co.uk\/stories\/topics\/draconid-meteor-shower-2022-when-where-see-it-uk<\/a><\/p>\n

NASA. (2019, Dec. 19). 21P\/Giacobini-Zinner. NASA. Retrieved Oct. 3, 2022, from https:\/\/solarsystem.nasa.gov\/asteroids-comets-and-meteors\/comets\/21p-giacobini-zinner<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Draconid meteor shower will peak overnight on Oct. 8-9, 2026. Skywatchers can look forward to excellent viewing…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":790397,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[59,90,56,54,55],"class_list":["post-790396","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-science","tag-gb","tag-science","tag-uk","tag-united-kingdom","tag-unitedkingdom"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/790396","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=790396"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/790396\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/790397"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=790396"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=790396"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=790396"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}