The clear sky will provide a perfect view of the Leonid Meteor Shower tonight, so named because most of the meteors will appear to come from the constellation Leo the Lion.
If possible, get away from the city lights, allow your eyes to adjust to the darkness and look toward the east. Don't bother with a telescope or binoculars; the meteors move too fast.
StarDate says we could see up to 20 meteors per hour. The nearly full moon will be shining brightly in the sky as well, but when the moon sets, it give you a couple of hours of total darkness before the sun once again rises.
The meteors are actually pieces of rock burning up in the atmosphere. The debris is leftover from Comet Tempel-Tuttle. As the comet orbits the sun, it leaves behind a trail of debris and every year about this time our orbit around the sun takes us through that debris field, creating a spectacular show in the night sky.
While the Leonid Meteor Shower peaks tonight, it's possible to see more meteors than normal over the next couple of weeks.
edit: I did this for the FFR user, leonid.
If possible, get away from the city lights, allow your eyes to adjust to the darkness and look toward the east. Don't bother with a telescope or binoculars; the meteors move too fast.
StarDate says we could see up to 20 meteors per hour. The nearly full moon will be shining brightly in the sky as well, but when the moon sets, it give you a couple of hours of total darkness before the sun once again rises.
The meteors are actually pieces of rock burning up in the atmosphere. The debris is leftover from Comet Tempel-Tuttle. As the comet orbits the sun, it leaves behind a trail of debris and every year about this time our orbit around the sun takes us through that debris field, creating a spectacular show in the night sky.
While the Leonid Meteor Shower peaks tonight, it's possible to see more meteors than normal over the next couple of weeks.
edit: I did this for the FFR user, leonid.
)
Comment