2 Meteor Showers Peak This Week: When To Watch In NoVA, DC

WASHINGTON, DC — Shooting stars have been blazing across the DC and northern Virginia skies 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. 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: Mostly cloudy, with a low around 56. Southeast wind around 6 mph.

Tuesday: Showers, mainly after 2pm. Patchy fog before 11am. High near 67. Southeast wind 7 to 9 mph. Chance of precipitation is 90%. New precipitation amounts between a quarter and half of an inch possible.

Tuesday Night: Showers, mainly before 8pm. Low around 49. Northwest wind 5 to 8 mph. Chance of precipitation is 80%. New precipitation amounts between a tenth and quarter of an inch possible.

Wednesday: Sunny, with a high near 65. West wind 5 to 10 mph, with gusts as high as 20 mph.

Wednesday Night: Clear, with a low around 45. West wind around 5 mph becoming calm after midnight.

Thursday: Sunny, with a high near 68.

Thursday Night: Mostly clear, with a low around 48.

Friday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 67.

Friday Night: Mostly cloudy, with a low around 48.

Saturday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 60.

Saturday Night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 44.

Sunday: A chance of showers. Mostly sunny, with a high near 60. Chance of precipitation is 40%.

Sunday Night: A chance of showers. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 51. Chance of precipitation is 40%.