Don't forget to look at the sky tonight! All eyes on the 'awakening dragon' during Space Week

The most beautiful week of the year for space enthusiasts is crowned with a visual feast. The Draconid meteor shower, which occurs every year in early October and takes its name from the constellation Draco (Dragon), reaches its peak activity tonight (October 8).

This unique natural phenomenon, which occurs when the dust and rock fragments left in space by the Giacobini-Zinner Comet enter the Earth's atmosphere, has a feature that is different from other meteor showers: You do not have to wait until midnight or early morning to watch it.

HOW TO WATCH FROM Türkiye?

The dragon meteor shower can also be clearly observed from Türkiye, located in the Northern Hemisphere. The first hours of the evening, as the weather gets dark, are the ideal time to catch the Draconids.

Just turn your face towards the Northwest, towards the constellation Dragon.

You don't need any telescope or binoculars as it can be viewed with the naked eye.

In order to fully enjoy the show, it is important to go to a dark spot away from city lights and look at the sky for at least 20 minutes to allow your eyes to get used to the darkness. If you're lucky on this particular night of Space Week, you might see an average of 10 to 20 "shooting stars" per hour.

World Space Week, celebrated by the United Nations between 4-10 October every year since 1999, is an international event celebrating the unique contributions of space science and technologies to the development of humanity. This week, which is celebrated simultaneously in more than 90 countries around the world, brings together those who are curious about the secrets of the universe, astronomy enthusiasts and future explorers in one common place.

WHY ESPECIALLY BETWEEN 4 - 10 OCTOBER?

The choice of these dates is definitely not a coincidence. On the contrary, it represents the two biggest turning points in humanity's space adventure:

October 4, 1957: Sputnik 1, the first human-made Earth satellite, is launched into space. This event is the historical step that officially started the space age of humanity.

October 10, 1967: This is the day when the international Magna Carta, known simply as the "Space Treaty", came into force, guaranteeing the peaceful use of space, including the Moon and other celestial bodies.