The meteor shower will begin around midnight local time across the continental USA and will last until dawn, according to NASA, with approximately 15 meteors per hour.
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And looking ahead, one of the year’s best meteor showers – the Geminids – will take place next month. Leo appears in the eastern sky around midnight each night though meteors will be visible before then. She recommends a drive in the country: “The Leonids are not known for having big fireballs, and so a dark night sky is very useful [if] you can get away from the city lights”.
The Leonid meteor shower will reach its maximum overnight Tuesday into Wednesday (Nov. 17 to November 18), giving skywatchers the chance to see a few brilliant “shooting stars”. However, though the Leonids have put on a few fantastic displays in the past, this year’s show will likely be on the subdued side. “When a comet passes close to the sun, it melts and releases a lot of little tiny particles all along its orbit”. During the stream, commentary and extra information about the meteor shower was featured.
Comet Tempel-Tuttle was discovered twice independently – in 1865 and 1866 by Ernst Tempel and Horace Tuttle, respectively. You won’t need to worry about getting hold of any fancy star-gazing equipment either because the shower will be easily visible to the naked eye. The waxing crescent moon of the evening was just dim enough for allowing a dazzling showcase of a few of the fastest meteors around.
The Leonids result when Earth plows through a trail of debris shed by Comet Tempel-Tuttle.
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You can also watch the Leonid meteor shower webcast on Space.com, courtesy of Slooh.
