Heads up stargazers! The Leonid meteor bathe peaks tonight, bringing a flurry of capturing stars to the night time sky as Earth passes via the path of particles shed by comet 55P/Tempel-Tuttle.
The Leonid meteor bathe is lively from Nov. 3 to Dec 2 and peaks in a single day on Nov. 16-17, when as much as 10 meteors per hour could also be seen radiating from a patch of sky within the constellation Leo, in line with the American Meteor Society.
What time ought to I search for the Leonids?
The very best time to search for Leonids is late at night time on Nov. 16 via to the hours previous daybreak on Nov. 17, when the constellation Leo shall be positioned excessive above the japanese horizon, with Jupiter shining brightly to its higher proper. Search for a patch of sky roughly 40 levels above the radiant in Leo, that is roughly the width of 4 clenched fists held at arm’s size, the place the meteor trails shall be at their longest.
Robert Lunsford is the fireball report coordinator, e-newsletter editor and treasurer on the American Meteor Society, one of many main sources of data on meteor showers.
“On the morning of November seventeenth I’d anticipate observers of the Leonid bathe to see 5-10 meteors per hour,” Robert Lunsford of the American Meteor Society advised Area.com in an electronic mail. “It falls off quickly, [so] I’d anticipate charges of solely 5 [shooting stars] per hour on the next morning and one other 50 p.c drop off on every of the next mornings.”
Be sure you put on heat clothes to fight the chilly and permit not less than half-hour to your eyes to regulate totally to the darkish, to present your self the perfect likelihood of recognizing fainter members of the annual bathe. Attempt to use a purple mild if you must go searching, as this may assist preserve your night time imaginative and prescient intact over a typical flashlight!
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The Leonid meteor bathe is thought for producing spectacular meteor storms once in a while, when lots of, and even 1000’s of meteors could be seen brightening the night time sky every hour. Sadly, Earth is not on account of cross via a very dense cloud of cometary particles from 55P/Tempel-Tuttle till the yr 2099.
Need to {photograph} a capturing star? Then you should definitely take a look at our information to imaging meteor showers, together with our roundups of the finest cameras and lenses out there for astrophotography in 2025.
Editor’s Be aware: If you need to share your meteor photographs with Area.com’s readers, then please ship your photograph(s), feedback, title and site to spacephotos@house.com.
