THERE’S nothing quite like a stunning display of a meteor shower lighting up the night sky above you. So when is the next Leonid meteor shower and what time does it peak? Here’s the lowdown… When is Leonid meteor shower? November’s Leonid meteor shower is active from 6th through to the 30th, and this year […]
THERE’S nothing quite like a stunning display of a meteor shower lighting up the night sky above you.
So when is the next Leonid meteor shower and what time does it peak? Here’s the lowdown…
November’s Leonid meteor shower is active from 6th through to the 30th, and this year it will peak in the early hours of Monday, November 18.
The Leonid Meteor Shower is one of six significant annual meteor showers.
A meteor shower occurs when many meteoroids (rocks in space) fall towards the Earth after breaking off a comet – a small, icy object in the Solar System which orbits the sun in an irregular fashion, unlike the Earth’s circular orbit.
This particular celestial event is called the Leonids because it appears to come from the Leo star constellation.
It occurs when the Earth passes through debris which has broken away from the comet Tempel-Tuttle – which has a whopping 33-year orbit around the sun.
When the Earth passes through the debris, it falls towards our planet’s surface.
Drag in the atmosphere cause the debris to heat up and burst into fireballs – called meteors.
These burn up before they hit the earth’s surface – causing a streak of hot air which we see as a shooting star.
Finding a dark sky with low horizons is a good start, but you will need a lot of patience to keep looking up.
It is recommended to watch for the meteor away from the city as possible, as the city lights will light up the sky and make it harder to spot anything.
It’s suggested you start looking for it around 1am…but don’t forget to wrap up warm if you do!
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