Heads up stargazers! The Leonid meteor bathe peaks tonight, bringing a flurry of taking pictures stars to the evening sky as Earth passes by way of the path of particles shed by comet 55P/Tempel-Tuttle.
The Leonid meteor bathe is energetic 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 response to the American Meteor Society.
What time should I look for the Leonids?
The best time to look for Leonids is late at night on Nov. 16 through to the hours preceding dawn on Nov. 17, when the constellation Leo will be positioned high above the eastern horizon, with Jupiter shining brightly to its upper right. Look for a patch of sky roughly 40 degrees above the radiant in Leo, that’s roughly the width of four clenched fists held at arm’s length, where the meteor trails will be at their longest.
Robert Lunsford is the fireball report coordinator, newsletter editor and treasurer at 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 instructed 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.”
You’ll want to put on heat clothes to fight the chilly and permit not less than half-hour to your eyes to regulate absolutely to the darkish, to offer your self the very best likelihood of recognizing fainter members of the annual bathe. Attempt to use a purple mild if it’s worthwhile to go searching, as it will assist maintain your evening imaginative and prescient intact over an ordinary flashlight!
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The Leonid meteor bathe is understood for producing spectacular meteor storms every now and then, when a whole lot, and even hundreds of meteors might be seen brightening the evening sky every hour. Sadly, Earth is not because of go by way of a very dense cloud of cometary particles from 55P/Tempel-Tuttle till the 12 months 2099.
Wish to {photograph} a taking pictures star? Then make sure to take a look at our information to imaging meteor showers, together with our roundups of the greatest cameras and lenses accessible for astrophotography in 2025.
Editor’s Observe: If you need to share your meteor pictures with Area.com’s readers, then please ship your photograph(s), feedback, identify and placement to spacephotos@area.com.
