I, like you, do not have a ton of expendable income — most of what I make is from cranking out stuff on this website or gambling — and so much of that money goes to the now $5/gal gas (Let’s Go Brandon, IFYKYK) … which means when I see an opportunity to get it in, for free, I have to take it.
You. Should. Too.
In this case the opportunities come in the form of two meteor showers peaking in October.
The annual ‘Draconid’ meteor shower is scheduled to reach its peak this week, and the ‘Orionid’ meteor shower will be at its best later in the month.
Guys make a plan to make this happen.
Get some wine, a comfy blanket, and find a spot to park for a bit.
It will work, it has for centuries. Even with all of our modern conveniences whether it is a one time opportunity or a longterm relationship, this is a can’t miss.
Here is what you need to know about the Draconid shower:
It will peak on Friday evening, Oct. 8, and go into early Saturday morning, Oct. 9. So, like this weekend. This is a layup but also practice for the second.
The intensity of this show is estimated to be about 5 to 10 meteors per hour. According to ‘astronomy experts’ (is that a real thing?) that number is low compared to many other meteor showers, and the fine folks at EarthSky.org say the Draconids can increase intensity and become highly active, with dozens of shooting stars each hour. Fingers crossed.
Good news about this particular shower — as I keep stealing information from these experts — is that most meteor showers are at their best in the pre-dawn hours butttttttt the best viewing of the Draconid meter shower is typically in the nighttime hours shortly after sunset. Plan this correctly and you can start the night early and impress whomever.
You can impress her with this information: the Draconid meteor shower got its name because its radiant point “almost coincides with the head of the constellation Draco the Dragon in the northern sky,” according to EarthSky. “That’s why the Draconids are best viewed from the northern hemisphere.”
The Orionid shower hits its peak period on Wednesday night, Oct. 20, and will go into the early morning hours on Thursday, Oct. 21.
This shower is a little more active than Daconid and usually produces about 20 meteors per hour. However, “this year’s viewing will be hindered due to the brightness of the moon,” according to AccuWeather. “The nearly full moon will be shining all night long, making it difficult to see the dimmer shooting stars.”
You don’t need to be an ‘expert’ to know that the Orionid meteor shower gets its name from the constellation Orion, and of course that is where these shooting stars originate. This year the meteors will — as usual — shoot out from that area of the sky, experts add that if you look up at any part of the sky you should be able to see some shooting stars from almost any direction.
There is one more in the middle of these two — when the Moon, Jupiter, and Saturn all align — but that sounds a little more like something you have to actually care about to watch more than an easy way to get laid. If you want more info on that, click this link.
Anyways, hope this helps and be sure to share your success later in the month if it does. We celebrate everyone’s victory here!
Photo by Fernando Rodrigues on Unsplash
