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The Draconid Meteor Shower Is Coming

CAPE CANAVERAL (CBS4) – If you look up to the sky this weekend, you might get lucky and see a shooting star. Actually it would be a meteor which just looks like a shooting star.

As many as 750 meteors an hour are expected Saturday, as Earth travels through streams of dust and ice from Comet Giacobini-Zinner. The comet passes through the inner solar system every seven years.

These Draconid meteors are expected to peak between 3 and 5 p.m. EDT. That's terrible timing for U.S. observers. The sun will obscure everything. NASA space weatherman Bill Cooke says if the forecast is wrong and the timing is off by a few hours, the United States may be in for a treat.

While it will be nighttime in Europe, Africa and the Middle East, a nearly full moon is expected to dull the spectacle.

The Draconids appear to come from the constellation Draco, the Dragon.

(TM and © Copyright 2011 CBS Radio Inc. and its relevant subsidiaries. CBS RADIO and EYE Logo TM and Copyright 2011 CBS Broadcasting Inc. Used under license. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)

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