Yes! It's time again for the spectacular Leonid meteor showers, and this year's annual fiery display in the heavens may just be a great one.
The wonderful thing about the Leonids is that you never know when they will bust it big time. That is, this every-November meteor showers has often produced not just showers but literal "storms" of flaming space rocks streaking across the sky and plummeting to earth.
The peak night is Nov. 17, but starting tonight, if you go out under the starry sky, you will almost certainly see more meteors than you would on most other nights. Last year on Nov. 17 the Leonids delivered a terrific 500 meteors per hour!
The reason the Leonids occur every November is that the earth passes through a debris trail left behind in this corridor of space by the Comet Temple-Tuttle. This comet, discovered in 1865, and again independently in 1866, passes through the earth's orbit every 33 years -- replenishing the particle field that means a rich crop of meteors for eager stargazers to enjoy.
Another great thing about meteor shower watching is that you don't need any fancy, expensive astronomical equipment -- just your naked eyes, maybe a comfortable reclining chair, and because this is Minnesota, a warm coat and a Thermos bottle full of hot cocoa.
Now here's an exciting bonus about this year's Leonids: Many of the meteors may appear to shooting out of the planet Mars! That's right!
The planet Mars, which looks like a bright, reddish star, just happens to be passing through the Leonid radiant this year. Mars is going to be about twice as bright as the average first magnitude star, which are the brightest stars in the sky.
Just so you know, the reason the Leonids are called the Leonids is because the radiant -- the area where most meteors appear to burst out of the sky -- is located in the constellation Leo.
So let's pray for clear skies, a mild night and a terrific night of meteor watching. Make a party of it. Get together with a group of friends, travel out to an area free of city street lights, and simply lift your eyes to the heavens and feast your eyes on one of Mother Nature's finest gifts -- meteor showers! (And hopefully a storm)!
Comments
Great article! We are looking forward to the meteor shower and would love it if this warmer-than-average weather would stick around long enough so we don't freeze while we watch it! :)
Thank-you for this totally amazing article. We now have a really beautiful plan to take LSD and trip out in the park and watch the meteor shower. Thanks to you examiner.com, oh we will also be sure to poo in the bush under the shooting stars.
The Leonids of last year had a very brief peak reaching 100 meteors per hour (not 500!) for perfectly placed observers - if you hadn't disabled links, I'd prove it to you. This year most modellers expect a peak twice as high but again pretty sharp: Western Asia will be the place to be, others will see <i>much</i> less action.
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