Across the coming weeks, the night sky over Massachusetts and the wider Northern Hemisphere is preparing a quiet procession of falling light. The Taurid meteors are already drifting through, and the Leonids, born from the debris of a comet that returns every third of a lifetime, are set to arrive around mid-November. It is a reminder that the heavens keep their own calendar, and that ordinary people, standing still in dark places, are invited to witness it.
Leonid Meteor Shower Peaks Nov. 17, Overlapping With Taurid Activity
Thousands of meteors per minute, once. Now, 10 to 15 an hour.
Mark
Why are the Leonids getting attention if they only produce 10 to 15 meteors an hour?
Mimi
Partly the history. In 1966, on Nov. 17, rates reached thousands of meteors per minute for about 15 minutes. That is the shower's reputation.
Luke
But that's the past. The 10 to 15 per hour figure is EarthSky's typical rate, and it's the one that applies to this year.
Mark
What causes the shower?
Mimi
A comet called 55P/Tempel-Tuttle, which orbits the sun every 33 years. Earth passes through its debris, and the particles burn up in the atmosphere.
Mark
And the Taurids?
Mimi
They're running at the same time. Southern Taurids peak Nov. 3 and 4, and northern Taurids Nov. 9 to 12, continuing until Dec. 20.
Luke
Worth noting that the dates come from the American Meteor Society and EarthSky. The article doesn't say how many Taurids to expect, so I wouldn't promise a number.
Mark
Any practical advice?
Mimi
Go somewhere as dark as possible and give your eyes about 30 minutes to adjust, per Space.com.
Luke
And the article says nothing about weather or moonlight on the 17th, which will affect what anyone actually sees.
Il Polso
- Two meteor showers now overlap in the November sky, so watchers may catch streaks from both in a single night.
- Expectations must stay modest: the Leonids typically offer only 10 to 15 meteors per hour, a trickle rather than a storm.
- The shadow of 1966, when the Leonids produced thousands of meteors per minute, still hangs over the shower's reputation.
- Dark skies and roughly thirty minutes of patient eye adjustment are the only tools needed to meet the peak on Nov. 17.
Across the coming weeks, the night sky over Massachusetts and the wider Northern Hemisphere is preparing a quiet procession of falling light. The Taurid meteors are already drifting through, and the Leonids, born from the debris of a comet that returns every third of a lifetime, are set to arrive around mid-November. It is a reminder that the heavens keep their own calendar, and that ordinary people, standing still in dark places, are invited to witness it.
For the next few weeks, the sky above Massachusetts will host more than one meteor shower at once. The northern and southern Taurids are already underway, and the Leonids are about to join them, so that for a stretch of nights shooting stars from both can appear together.
The Taurids arrive first. The southern branch peaks on Nov. 3 and 4, while the northern branch, which runs until Dec. 20, reaches its height between Nov. 9 and 12. The Leonids follow, active from Nov. 3 through Dec. 2 and peaking on Nov. 17.
Stargazers should temper their hopes. The Leonids usually produce about 10 to 15 meteors an hour, a steady trickle rather than a downpour. Yet the shower has a dramatic past: on Nov. 17, 1966, it produced one of the greatest meteor storms in living memory.
The Leonids come from comet 55P/Tempel-Tuttle, whose icy dust burns up as Earth passes through it. For viewing, the advice is simple: find the darkest place you can and give your eyes about half an hour to adjust.
Over the next few weeks, the night sky above Massachusetts and the rest of the Northern Hemisphere will hold more than one meteor shower at a time. The northern and southern Taurids are already underway, and the Leonids are about to join them.
The Taurids come first. According to the American Meteor Society, the northern Taurids continue until Dec. 20 and peak Nov. 9 to 12. The southern Taurids are also active. They are no different from their northern counterparts except for timing: they peak earlier, on Nov. 3 and 4.
The Leonids follow. EarthSky lists their run as Nov. 3 through Dec. 2, with the peak on Nov. 17, 2025. For several weeks, then, the Taurid and Leonid showers overlap, and shooting stars from both can appear in the same night sky.
A reader hoping for a spectacle should keep expectations modest. EarthSky says stargazers typically see about 10 to 15 meteors per hour during the Leonids. That is a steady trickle, not a downpour.
The Leonids were not always so quiet. EarthSky notes that on Nov. 17, 1966, the shower produced what it called one of the greatest meteor storms in living memory. At the height of it, rates reached thousands of meteors per minute over a 15-minute stretch.
The source of the Leonids is a comet. Space.com explains that the shower comes from ice and dust left behind by 55P/Tempel-Tuttle, which orbits the sun every 33 years. When Earth passes through the comet's debris, the particles, which Space.com calls "comet crumbs," heat up as they enter the atmosphere and streak across the sky as shooting stars.
For viewing, Space.com's advice is simple. Find the darkest location you can, then wait about 30 minutes for your eyes to adjust to the dark. That patience matters more than any equipment.
The calendar sets the order: southern Taurids peak Nov. 3 and 4, northern Taurids Nov. 9 to 12, and the Leonids on Nov. 17.
Citazioni salienti
Go to the darkest possible location and wait about 30 minutes for your eyes to adjust to the dark.— Space.com
Vuoi la storia completa?
Leggi l'originale su Quincy Patriot Ledger ↗
Crime & Justice