How to watch the Leonid meteor shower peaking this weekend

This yr, the Leonid meteor bathe will attain its peak on the evenings of 17 and 18 November. The Leonids are a very thrilling bathe, identified for his or her vibrant, fast-moving meteors. With the moon partially lit, at 19 per cent of its full brightness on 17 November, there’s a good likelihood to identify them from wherever on the planet.

What are meteor showers?

Meteors, or capturing stars, are vibrant flashes of sunshine that streak throughout the sky, showing as if from nowhere, and are gone in seconds. They’re brought on by items of particles in house, usually across the measurement of a grain of rice, getting into Earth’s ambiance and burning up, they usually can occur at any time of the yr. Particular meteor showers happen about the identical time every year, when Earth’s orbit brings us right into a cloud of particles, often left over from a comet.

Why are they known as the Leonids?

The Leonid meteor bathe is known as after the constellation it seems to come back from, on this case Leo, however it’s truly produced by particles from comet Tempel-Tuttle, also referred to as 55P.

How can I watch the Leonids?

The perfect time to look is after midnight. Discover a clear spot and preserve your eyes on the sky. The meteors will seem to come back from Leo, which yow will discover by wanting on the Plough or the Massive Dipper. Search for the 2 stars on the far finish of the Plough, away from the deal with – these are often called pointer stars as a result of drawing a line from the bottom of the Plough to the top will point you towards Polaris, the North Star. To search out Leo, hint a line by the pointer stars in the wrong way till you attain a question-mark formed group of stars that make the top of the lion. That stated, you don’t have to take a look at any explicit constellation, as a result of the meteors will cross the sky in all instructions.

What number of meteors will I see?

The longer you’re looking, the higher your possibilities of recognizing meteors. The estimated peak of the Leonids will result in 15 meteors per hour. If you’re fortunate, you may additionally spot a fireball. These are produced by bigger items of particles and seem a lot brighter than typical meteors, keep seen for just a little longer and infrequently have seen tails behind them.

Can I see comet Tempel-Tuttle?

Whereas the Leonids occur yearly, comet Tempel-Tuttle gained’t be seen this yr. That’s as a result of it takes about 33 years to orbit the solar, spending most of that point removed from Earth. Across the time the comet reaches its closest strategy to Earth, the Leonids turn out to be not only a meteor bathe, however one thing often called a meteor storm, with over 1000 meteors seen in an hour. The final Leonid meteor storm was in 1996, so we should wait till 2029 for the following one.