Tonight's Draconid meteor shower is expected to be one of the best ever and the best viewing time should take place in most places across the country just after sunset.
The shower is expected to start just after dusk, which is an ideal time for those who don't have massive telescopes to watch the show.
"It's an oddball one, because it's one of those showers that's very regular, but it generally doesn't have what we call an outburst, where you have an awful lot meteors," said Denis Grey, treasurer of the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada and member of the society's board of directors, in a press statement.
The meteor shower gets its name from Draco, the dragon-shaped constellation making its way around the Little Dipper. Most experts feel this year should be a good show as the moon won't interfere with the display, according to the Huffington Post.
They're a byproduct of the Giacobini-Zinner comment, which orbits the sun every 6.6 years, according to RedOrbit.com.
"Most years, we pass through gaps between filaments, maybe just grazing one or two as we go by," Bill Cooke of NASA's Meteoroid Environment Office said before the 2011 shower, according to RedOrbit. "Occasionally, though, we hit one nearly head on-and the fireworks begin."
The comet was first discovered on December 20, 1900 by the French astronomer Michel Giacobini. The next sighting took place in 1913 by Ernst Zinner, which is where the comet gets its name from.
People who want to watch the shower should find a dark location outside with as much open sky as possible. Experts suggest allowing at least 20 minutes for eyes to adjust to darkness.
Back in 2011, 600 meteors per hour could be seen by those looking up at the sky in Europe, according to the Huffington Post.
The next meteor shower this year is the Orionids, which peaks Oct. 21, according to USA Today.
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