If the recent Black Moon left you pining for more incredible views above, you're in luck. This Friday marks the peak of the Draconid meter shower. Here's how to make sure you don't miss it.
The Draconid meteor shower is set to peak the night of October 7, according to EarthSky. (The Draconids are the first of two October meteor showers to happen annually — the second is the Orionids, which will peak around October 21.) Contrary to most meteor showers, this one is best viewed around sunset, just before nightfall. The shower gets its name from the constellation it often passes through, Draco the Dragon (and, in fact, sometimes meteors appear to shoot out of the dragon's mouth!). But this constellation is highest in the sky at dusk, which makes it easier to see at that time rather than later at night.
This shower is hit or miss. Sometimes, it can produce some spectacular imagery, while other years it's a total snooze-fest. The only way to find out is to grab a picnic blanket and sweater, lie down outside, and scour the skies. But, if you know you're going to miss it, don't fret: We've gathered some of the most spectacular meteor shower images NASA and other organizations have captured. Read on for our favorites.
For a peek at what to expect this year, here's how the Draconids looked last year in the John Muir Wilderness near Emerald Lake in California.
Video: Jeremy Evans/YouTube.
A Leonid meteor shoots across the California desert sky during a meteor shower in 2008.
Photo: Jerry Schad/Getty Images.
This lone meteor was caught during this year's Perseid meteor shower over Spruce Knob, WV.
Photo: Courtesy Bill Ingalls/NASA.
It's a bird! It's a plane! Nope, it's a meteor. This one, from the Perseid meteor shower, streaked above Washington, D.C.
Photo: Courtesy Joel Kowsky/NASA.Here, you can watch last year's Perseid meteor shower, as seen in Yosemite National Park.
Video: Jeremy Evans/YouTube.
A fish-eye camera lens was used to take this circular shot of the Perseid meteor shower over West Knob, NC.
Photo: Courtesy Bill Ingalls/NASA.
A close look at the Perseid meteor shower making trails over Joshua Tree National Park in California.
Photo: Cannone Arif/Flickr.
The Perseid meteor shower created a starry galaxy over Spruce Knob, WV.
Photo: Courtesy Bill Ingalls/NASA.
A shot from the annual Perseid meteor shower, taken August 13, 2015, in Spruce Knob, WV.
Photo: Courtesy Bill Ingalls/NASA.
A 20-second exposure shot of a meteor during the Perseid meteor shower, captured August 13, 2015, in Spruce Knob, WV.
Photo: Courtesy Bill Ingalls/NASA.
A shot from this year's Perseid meteor shower captured on August 12, 2016, in Spruce Knob, WV.
Photo: Courtesy Bill Ingalls/NASA.
A meteor streaked across the sky as the Soyuz rocket was rolled out to its launchpad in Kazakhstan on Sunday, December 13, 2015.
Photo: Courtesy Joel Kowsky/NASA.
One photographer captured the Geminid meteor shower in Hong Kong.
Photo: Danny Leung/Flickr.You'll have to watch closely to spot the meteors swiftly streaking across the sky in this time-lapse video of the Draconid shower from 2011.
Video: Yuckinus/YouTube.
A trippy view of the Geminid shower in the Netherlands.
Photo: Eddie Yip/Flickr.
Camping in Tai Po, Hong Kong is so much better when there's a Geminid meteor shower to watch.
Photo: Eddie Yip/Flickr.
This starry time-lapse was taken in Nevada's Black Rock Desert.
Photo: Trevor Bexon/Flickr.
A lake is the perfect mirror for showing off the Perseid meteor shower above.
Photo: Ryan Hallock/Flickr.
The Perseids shoot over the tree line of the Shasta-Trinity National Forest in California.
Photo: U.S. Department of Agriculture/Flickr.
The Geminids can still be seen amidst a cloudy sky above the Everglades.
Photo: TierraLady/Flickr.
One Geminid meteor can be seen streaking across the sky over Horseshoe Park in Colorado.
Photo: Bryce Bradford/Flickr.
The streaks of the Lyrid meteor shower, which falls in April.
Photo: Phillip Chee/Flickr.
This meteor was captured over Cairo during the Lyrid meteor shower.
Photo: Islam Hassan/Flickr.
Another single meteor, this one from the Geminid meteor shower, was seen from the Alabama Hills.
Photo: Henry Lee/Flickr.
A double meteor was seen from Richmond, NC, during the Orionid meteor shower.
Photo: John Flannery/Flickr.
The Geminid meteor shower was viewed passing above the Paranal Observatory in Chile.
Photo: ESO/G.Lombardi.
This shot of the Perseid meteor shower captured star trails on trails (on trails).
Photo: Anthony Stewart Vardy/Flickr.
Next on our travel bucket list: going to Oahu, HI, to watch the Geminid meteor shower.
Photo: Anthony Quintano/Flickr.
This Geminid meteor looks magical over the White Cliffs of Dover.
Photo: Michellimages/flickr.
Add "catch gorgeous views of the Geminid meteor shower" to your list of reasons to visit Romania.
Photo: Sergiu Bacioiu/Flickr.Like what you see? How about some more R29 goodness, right here?
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