Meteors will soon start streaking through the sky thanks to the Leonid Meteor Shower. In a few days, the Leonid Meteor Shower for 2011 will come to a peak. However, despite what most of the news media may lead you to believe, there is a lot more to the Leonid Shower than the night of the peak. While most news outlets only focus on the peak night, the fact is that the Leonids are already blazing trails through the sky.
Unlike what may have been suggested by most non-astronomical news sources, the Leonid shower lasts for about two weeks, a week on either side of the peak night. Why? The shower is caused by Earth running into a trail of space debris from Comet Tempel-Tuttleevery year. Think of it as a rainstorm. When driving into a rain shower, the rain does not come and go in a sudden burst. Likewise, the trail of cometary debris is the same way in that it starts very light, gets thicker until the deepest point is reached, and then starts lightening up again until the Earth passes completely through. The shower is called the Leonid because the meteors seem to radiate from the constellation Leo.
Every November, Earth passes through the stretch of space junk, reaching the deepest concentration on the night of November 17. According to some estimates, under ideal conditions (dark country skies), one can expect to see around 20-30 meteors per hour. The best time to view is in the pre-dawn hours as Leo is at its highest at this time, just about due East. To improve odds of seeing meteors, travel out of light-polluted Cleveland and to the suburbs or, even better, the country if you can. In the suburbs, just going from the front to back yard can make a dramatic difference, too.
Unfortunately, the Moon is going to be a waning gibbeous at the time of the Leonids, which is a real bummer. Still, even the bright Moon will not be able to out-shine the brightest of the meteors.
Now for viewing. The Cleveland area weather forecast is looking very iffy for the next week. So, for an even more up-to date, hour-by-hour forecast, check out the Cleveland Clear Sky Clock to see what the night will bring. Live somewhere else? Find a clock near you.
Good luck and clear skies to all.
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