The temperamental annual meteor shower known as the Draconids peaks this week under dark skies, offering skywatchers a nearly perfect chance to see as many as two dozen shooting stars per hour.

The Draconids are predicted to reach peak performance late Thursday night into the predawn hours Friday morning, and some should remain visible Friday night.  With a new moon predicted only a few days later on the 13th, the skies should be free from any lunar glare during the best viewing times.

Meteor showers occur when Earth slams into a stream of tiny particles, many the size of sand grains, that fly off a parent comet, which in this case is 21P/Giacobini-Zinner. This cometary debris burns up in our upper atmosphere