When the Dragon Wakes

The Draconids and the old dragon curled around the northern sky

Most meteor showers ask you to stay up late.

The Draconids are different.

They are an early-evening shower, appearing each October as Earth crosses debris left behind by comet 21P/Giacobini-Zinner. The meteors seem to radiate from Draco, the long, winding constellation wrapped around the northern sky.

Which feels appropriate for a dragon.

Draco is one of the old northern constellations. In one ancient Greek identification, it is Ladon, the serpent or dragon set to guard the golden apples of the Hesperides. Other versions attach different dragon stories to the same stars, which is exactly what old constellations tend to do: collect stories as generations keep looking up.

There is something wonderfully strange about the combination.

A dragon fixed in place.

A comet that refuses to stay still.

And once a year, the two appear to meet.

The meteors are not actually falling from Draco. The constellation only marks the direction from which they appear to come. What we are seeing are tiny particles striking Earth's atmosphere and burning away.

Still.

For a few October evenings, the illusion is perfect.

The old dragon lifts its head.

And the sky sheds sparks.

Maybe that is why humans keep making stories out of the heavens. Astronomy can tell us exactly what is happening without making the sight any less astonishing.

A dragon does not have to be real for the fire to be.