2 Meteor Showers Peak This Week: When To Watch In Atlanta Metro

ATLANTA, GA — Shooting stars have been blazing across the skies over the Atlanta metro most of the month, with two October meteor showers — the Draconids and the Orionids — peaking this week.

The Orionids will peak Monday and Tuesday, according to Eager stargazers may still get a chance to see the meteors, even if the weather doesn't fully cooperate Monday, but Tuesday looks good. Though the Draconid meteor shower peaks Tuesday, meteors may also be visible on Monday and Wednesday night, according to Earthsky.org.

There's good, bad and hopeful news associated with the Draconids, produced by dust grains left behind by comet 21P Giacobini-Zinner, first discovered in 1900. The Draconids radiate from the far north constellation Draco, which resembles a dragon or serpent, giving it the name of Draco the Dragon.

The good news: Though not as prolific as some meteor shower with only about 10 shooting stars an hour in typical years, the Draconids offer skywatchers the luxury of watching before bedtime, rather than in the pre-dawn hours. Nightfall and early evening are the best times to look for meteors.

The bad news: a bright moon could wash them out.

The hopeful news: 2019 is an outburst year for the Draconids, and they could produce 40 to 50 meteors an hour. The outbursts occur when the Earth passes inside Comet Giacobini-Zinner's orbit shortly after the comet has gone by.

Related: 2019 Guide To Meteor Showers, Other Celestial Events

In some outburst years, the shower produces thousands of meteors an hour. Skywatchers in Europe saw an incredible 500 Draconids a minute in 1933, and those in the western U.S. saw thousands per hour when the shower peaked in 1946, according to Space.com. The Draconids had an outburst in 2018, when the parent comet made its closest approach to Earth in 72 years.

Orionid Meteor Shower Going On Now, Too

The Orionid meteor shower continues through Nov. 7. The Orionids are among the fastest of meteor showers because the Earth collides almost head-on with a stream of dust grains left by the comet Halley.

You'll want to get up early (or go to bed late) for this one. At the peak, a bright moon will disrupt viewing until shortly before dawn. Meteors can be best seen during the predawn hours, around 5 a.m., according to Space.com.

"The saving grace for the Orionids, if you go out the last hour or two before dawn, the moon might have set in time for you to catch a few," Cooke, the NASA meteor expert, told Space.com.

Typically, the Orionids produce about 20 meteors an hour, but in exceptional years, like 2006 and 2009, they've rivaled August's famous Perseid meteor shower. Cooke expects the shower to produce about 30 or 40 meteors an hour this year.

The meteors radiate from the constellation Orion, but can be seen from anywhere in the sky.

Here is this week's forecast:

Monday Night: A chance of showers and thunderstorms, then showers likely and possibly a thunderstorm after midnight. Patchy fog between 4am and 5am. Otherwise, cloudy, with a steady temperature around 68. Southeast wind 5 to 10 mph. Chance of precipitation is 70%. New rainfall amounts between a tenth and quarter of an inch, except higher amounts possible in thunderstorms.

Tuesday: A 40 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms, mainly before 10am. Mostly sunny, with a high near 70. Northwest wind 10 to 15 mph, with gusts as high as 25 mph.

Tuesday Night: Clear, with a low around 46. West wind around 10 mph.

Wednesday: Sunny, with a high near 67. Calm wind.

Wednesday Night: Clear, with a low around 46. Calm wind.

Thursday: Sunny, with a high near 69.

Thursday Night: A 50 percent chance of showers. Partly cloudy, with a low around 53.

Friday: Showers likely. Cloudy, with a high near 65. Chance of precipitation is 70%.

Friday Night: A 50 percent chance of showers. Cloudy, with a low around 53.

Saturday: A 40 percent chance of showers. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 67.

Saturday Night: A 30 percent chance of showers. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 53.

Sunday: A 20 percent chance of showers. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 69.

Sunday Night: A 20 percent chance of showers. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 55