The Leonid Meteors
Skywatch Alert
Every November, Earth passes through a trail of dust and debris from the comet Tempel-Tuttle, which orbits the sun every 33 years.
When these particles enter the atmosphere, they create the Leonid Meteors.
The Leonids are so-named because they appear to emanate from the Leo constallation.
This year, there could be a big burst of up to 150 meteors per hour on Sat. November 18th. this evening.
When & Where to watch
People in eastern North America could see the burst of meteors starting at 11:45 p.m. that night.
Lower meteor activity will occur a few nights before and after.
In Europe, that corresponds to early Sunday morning, November 19th at 4:45 a.m GMT.
The outburst could last up to 2 hours.
Unfortunately, for those in the U.S West Coast, the peak occurs before Leo rises.
Outside of the expected peak.
The best time to watch for Leonids is in the pre-dawn hours, when the constellation Leo is high in the sky.
Photographer
George Varros
Location: Mount Airy, MD USA Nov. 18
A huge fireball imaged with 75 degrees FOV Gen 2 intensity.
The meteor starts just above Jupiter, the bright object in the upper center.
Ireth0283 · Sat Nov 18, 2006 @ 08:52pm · 1 Comments
