The December Kappa Draconids meteor shower
Key facts
- Peak
- around 2–3 December
- Active
- late November to mid-December
- Rate at peak (ZHR)
- very low (detected mainly by video)
- Speed
- about 45 km/s
- Radiant
- Draco (near the star Kappa Draconis, between the Plough and the Pole Star)
- Parent body
- Unknown
Dates shift slightly from year to year. This year's peak is in the events calendar, and the meteor-shower planner shows how high the radiant climbs from where you live, night by night.
The December Kappa Draconids are a weak shower from the far northern sky, active in early December. Like several showers on this list, they were picked out from video orbits and are best followed by cameras.
Discovery. The shower was among eleven new streams found in 2009 by the Tokyo observer Takashi Kanamori, using two years of video recordings from cameras at several sites in Japan. A group of meteors from near Kappa Draconis had orbits that matched closely.
The radiant. Draco, the Dragon, is a long, winding constellation that coils between the Plough and the Little Bear. Kappa Draconis lies in its tail, between the end of the Plough's handle and Polaris. From the UK this area is circumpolar: it never sets, and in December it is highest in the hours before dawn.
The meteors. The meteoroids enter at medium speed, about 45 kilometres per second. No parent body has been identified.
What to expect. Very few meteors, easily lost among sporadic meteors and the many other showers of early December. A visual observer is unlikely to notice the shower without plotting each meteor's path on a chart.
A northern December. Early December has several weak northern showers, including this one, the Psi Ursae Majorids and the December Alpha Draconids, all found by video networks. Separating them by eye is very difficult, and modern camera data are the main source of information about them.
Viewing. This is a northern shower, well placed for the UK, Europe and North America all night. From the southern hemisphere the radiant does not rise.
Viewing tips
- Find Kappa Draconis between the end of the Plough's handle and the Pole Star.
- Watch in the hours before dawn, when the radiant is highest.
- Use a video camera, the main tool for recording this shower.
- Plot meteors to separate it from other weak December showers.
- Dress warmly for long, cold December nights.
Read about the parent: Comet Pons–Brooks, and the other comets behind meteor showers.