Every November , there ’s a wild issue for bring masses together : that ’s right , the Leonid meteoroid shower . It will top out in the dark sky this weekend , and this is how you’re able to optimize your view of the show .
The Leonids ’ light lead seem to come from the constellation Leo , hence their name , but the meteors in reality appear across the night sky . The meteor follow from the comparatively small comet 55P / Tempel - Tuttle , find by Tempel and Tuttle in 1865 and 1866 , respectively . The comet ’s nucleus is just 2.24 miles ( 3.6 klick ) across , and it revolve the Sun once every 33 years .
Though the Leonids are alive for about a month — from November 3 to December 2 , this yr — their peak is typically in mid - November . This class , the eyeshade is expected to occur just preceding midnight on November 18 . The lunation is a waxing crescent and will set just past 8:00 p.m. ET , so it will not handicap percipient ’ view of the shower .
The sky the night of 14 January 2025—peak Leonid shower time.Photo: Xue Bing / Costfoto/Future Publishing (Getty Images)
The show can lie in ofabout 15 meteor per hourat its tiresome , but their pace can be more frequent . close to every 33 years — the comet ’s orbital period , if you ’re paying attention — the Leonid shower becomes a tempest , with C to one thousand of meteors visible to the keen - eyed observer .
The last Leonid shooting star storm was in 2002 , so do n’t gestate another tempest for at least another decade . According to ESA , the most memorable Leonid tempest occurred in 1833 , when “ ten of 1000 ” of meteor seem over North America .
Leonid meteors have a velocity of about 44 mi per second , harmonise to NASA . Their lead can be bluish or light-green , and can leave vapor trail in the sky that last minutes .
An illustration of the Leonid meteor storm of 1833.Illustration: Bettmann (Getty Images)
allot to NASA , the Leonids are intimately viewed after midnight , in a benighted region far from‘skyglow ’ and other brightness level pollutionthat can make dim objects in space nigh out of the question to see . It ’s best to look away from the radiant — the point from which the meteors appear to originate — to consider them , due to foreshortening ( a optic gist that make objects appear curt than they are when viewed from sure slant ) .
The Leonid shower will last until dawn , so you ’ll have several hour to catch a glance of the meteors . Leonid meteor can be fireballs — bright , longer - lasting flashes of colouration in the sky — and Earth - grazers , or streaks of light with long fanny that appear closer to the horizon . So keep your eyes peeled for both kinds , and cross your fingers for a colored show .
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