The Draconid meteor shower is expected to peak this evening for just a few hours. Its peak is hitting right after sunset in the northern hemisphere.

The Draconoid shower is actually a recurring meteor show during October. Although it isn’t one of the most known, it makes a brief and exciting appearance in the sky.

Named after the constellation Draco the Dragon, the Draconoids appear to radiate from the head of a dragon.

LSU professor of Anatomy and physics, Eric Burns, studies meteors and is excited to see the Draconid in action.

“This is leftover from a comet trail. This one is kind of a lucky position because you get to see it just after sunset, you don’t have to stay up till 4 in the morning. In particular, normally this one would do like maybe 10 meteors per hour, but we’re going to get lucky this year and we might get 100,” Burns said.

Unlike many other meteor showers, the Draconids are slow-moving, making them easy for spectators to see.

“They move through the solar system sometimes at extreme speeds.10s of 1000 kilometers per hour. The ones that we’re hitting just so happen to be in Earth’s trail. So it’s actually Earths movements that’s going to hit them, which is about 1000 kilometers per hour,” Burns said.

The Draconids are short seen meteors but they’ve surprised spectators in the past. The meteor can sometimes produce dozens or hundreds of meteors per hour.

“About an hour after sunset. If you kind of enter nice darkness, you’ll be able to see them at the peak at that time.The moon will be out which will be a little annoying, but you should be able to see them,” Burns said.

For the best view, observers should find a dark location away from city lights and allow time for their eyes to adjust.