There are good causes to control the Leonid meteors this yr.
It’s nonetheless one of many coolest issues I ever noticed. I used to be within the U.S. Air Power within the 90s, and November 1998 noticed me deployed to the darkish skies of Kuwait. That journey offered an sudden deal with, because the Leonid meteors hit dramatic storm ranges on the morning of the 17th. Meteor got here quick and livid in direction of native dawn, usually lighting up the desert flooring like celestial photoflashes within the sky.
As soon as each 33 years or so, the ‘lion roars,’ as Leonid meteors appear to rain down from the Sickle asterism of the constellation Leo. And whereas the final outbreak was centered across the years surrounding 1999, there’s some fascinating dialogue about potential encounters with previous Leonid streams in 2024.
The Leonids in 2024
To make certain, 2024 is in any other case slated to be an off yr for the bathe. The normal annual maximum for 2024 is anticipated to happen on Sunday, November 17th at round ~4:00 Common Time (UT), with an anticipated Zenithal Hourly Price (ZHR) of 15-20 meteors per hour seen below perfect situations. This favors Europe within the early daybreak hours.
A Leonid Outburst in 2024?
However there are additionally just a few different streams which will arrive earlier this week and are value expecting. Jérémie Vaubaillon of the Paris Observatory IMCCE notes that Earth may encounter three older streams from periodic comet 55P/Tempel-Tuttle. The comet is the supply of the Leonids. On a 33.8 yr orbit, a meteor bathe happens when the Earth plows headlong into the stream of mud and particles laid down by the comet.
The three suspect trails are:
-A path laid down in 1633 (the supply of the 2001 meteor storm). Earth is close to this path on November 14th at 16:37 UT, favoring northwestern North America within the early morning hours.
-A mud path from 1733, peaking on November 19/twentieth at 23:53 to 00:54 UT, favoring north/central Asia.
-And eventually, an encounter with a string of older (greater than a millennium outdated) streams on November 14th at 16:37 UT, (the identical time because the 1633 stream). It’s value noting that the 1733 stream was the suspected supply of the 1866 Leonid meteor storm.
Watching this Thursday morning on the 14th might be a harbinger as as to if or not we’re in for a present. Sadly, the Moon is waxing gibbous and headed in direction of Full this week on November 15th, which means that it with present rising illumination and minimize down noticed meteor charges.
The Leonids on previous current years have held regular at predicted charges of about or so 20 per hour. It’s value noting that one other encounter with the 1699 stream and potential outburst is predicted for next year, 2025.
Meteor Bathe… or Storm?
Meteor storms happen when the zenithal hourly price tops 500 or extra per hour. Consider, a ZHR of a thousand or increased signifies that you’re seeing a meteor each few seconds. The October Draconids and the December Andromedids are additionally vulnerable to nice outbursts, however the Leonids are essentially the most infamous and well-known. The 1966 shower seen over the U.S. southwest topped a tremendous ZHR of as much as 150,000 per hour (!)
Observing and Imaging the Leonids
Early morning hours are greatest to see meteors, as you’re standing on the swath of the floor of the Earth that’s turned ahead in to the stream. Pinpoint meteors will happen close to the bathe radiant, whereas lengthy streaks will stand out out in stark profile about 45 to 90 levels away on both facet of the radiant. I prefer to purpose my tripod-mounted DSLR at these areas, set the lens to the widest discipline of view potential, and easily let it run taking auto-exposures and see what turns up. An intervalometer is a good gadget to automate this course of. This enables me to simply sit again with a steaming scorching cup of tea (a should for chilly November mornings) and easily watch the present, as meteors slide by.
Maybe, we’ll merely should wait for 2030s to see robust exercise from the Leonids once more. However do you actually need to threat lacking a shock present? To cite hockey participant Wayne Gretzky: “You miss 100% of the pictures you don’t take.” The identical holds true for lacking versus catching meteor storms: you simply have to point out up and watch.
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