Each autumn the Earth moves through a river of dust shed long ago by a comet, and this week that old debris meets the sky again as the Leonid meteor shower reaches its peak on the night of November 17 and 18. The show is modest on most nights, with perhaps fifteen meteors an hour under ideal skies, yet it carries the memory of 1833, when a storm of hundreds of thousands of meteors woke people across eastern North America and reminded them how much the heavens can surprise. Watchers who step away from city lights and give their eyes time to adjust will meet the same ancient rhythm that has repe
Leonid meteor shower peaks November 17-18 with 10 to 15 meteors an hour under dark skies
Most years the display stays modest, but not always.
Mark
Fifteen meteors an hour sounds like a decent show. Is that what people will see?
Mimi
Not quite. That number is the Zenithal Hourly Rate, a standardized figure that assumes a clear, dark sky and the radiant straight overhead. Most people will see fewer, possibly just a handful in an hour.
Luke
Worth stressing that 15 is a ceiling under ideal conditions, not a forecast for any given backyard. The headline's "10 to 15" range is not something the article itself explains; the text only gives about 15.
Mark
Why is the timing midnight to dawn rather than the predicted peak?
Mimi
The predicted maximum is 6.45 pm EST, 11.45 pm GMT, but Leo climbs higher after midnight, which is when the radiant is better placed. North Americans can try both mornings, Europeans mainly November 18.
Luke
And the peak time is a prediction from the International Meteor Organisation's calendar. Actual activity can differ from it.
Mark
What about the Moon?
Mimi
It's near first quarter and sets before the best viewing hours, so darker skies this year.
Mark
Why does 1833 keep coming up?
Mimi
Because it shows what the Leonids can do. NASA describes hundreds of thousands of meteors over eastern North America on November 13, 1833, waking many people, including a young Abraham Lincoln.
Luke
That was a dense part of the comet's trail. Nothing in the reporting suggests anything like it this year; the expectation is a modest display.
Mark
And what comes next?
Mimi
Comet 55P/Tempel-Tuttle is due back in 2031.
Der Puls
- The Leonids peak on November 17-18, but clouds, city glow and the radiant's low position will likely hold counts well below the ideal figure of about fifteen an hour.
- Moonlight is not expected to spoil the show, with the Moon setting before the best pre-dawn viewing hours.
- Observers are urged to head to dark sites, lie back, take in the whole sky rather than fixating on Leo, and allow about thirty minutes for their eyes to adjust.
- The shower's 1833 storm remains the benchmark for drama, and while this year promises only a modest display, the next heightened Leonid period is already anticipated around 2031.
Each autumn the Earth moves through a river of dust shed long ago by a comet, and this week that old debris meets the sky again as the Leonid meteor shower reaches its peak on the night of November 17 and 18. The show is modest on most nights, with perhaps fifteen meteors an hour under ideal skies, yet it carries the memory of 1833, when a storm of hundreds of thousands of meteors woke people across eastern North America and reminded them how much the heavens can surprise. Watchers who step away from city lights and give their eyes time to adjust will meet the same ancient rhythm that has repeated since comet Tempel-Tuttle last passed close to the Sun, and that will return again around 2031.
The best hours to watch the Leonid meteor shower this year fall between midnight and dawn on the night of November 17-18, when the meteors seem to rise from Leo higher in the sky. The shower runs from November 6 to November 30, and its predicted maximum falls on the evening of November 17 by the International Meteor Organisation's calendar.
The headline figure is modest. Under perfectly dark and clear conditions the Leonids produce around fifteen meteors an hour, but real nights rarely match that. Clouds, artificial light and the radiant's position all cut the count, and some observers may see only a handful. The Moon, near first quarter at the peak, should set before the best pre-dawn hours and will not interfere much.
No telescope is needed. Observers can find Regulus, the bright star in Leo, but should not stare only at that patch of sky, since meteors appear everywhere and those farther from the radiant often leave longer trails. Finding a dark site and giving the eyes about half an hour to adjust matters more than any equipment.
The shower comes from comet 55P/Tempel-Tuttle, whose dust Earth passes through each year. The comet circles the Sun roughly every 33 years, and its nucleus is about 3.6 kilometres across. The Leonids are among the fastest annual showers, entering the atmosphere at about 71 kilometres per second, which can produce bright fireballs.
Most years stay quiet, but in 1833 the Great Meteor Storm filled the skies over eastern North America with hundreds of thousands of meteors, waking people across the region, among them a young Abraham Lincoln. Scientists now know Earth had crossed an unusually dense part of the comet's dust trail. The comet returns in 2031, when heightened Leonid activity can again be expected. For now, the advice is simple: find dark skies and watch the hours after midnight on November 17-18.
The best hours to watch the Leonid meteor shower this year fall between midnight and dawn on the night of November 17-18, when Leo, the constellation the meteors appear to come from, climbs higher in the sky. The shower is active from November 6 to November 30, but the International Meteor Organisation's calendar puts the predicted maximum on November 17 at 6.45 pm EST, which is 11.45 pm GMT.
The headline number is modest. Under ideal conditions the Leonids have a Zenithal Hourly Rate of around 15 meteors an hour. That figure is a standardized measure, built on a clear, dark sky with the radiant directly overhead. Real nights rarely match it. Artificial lights, clouds, moonlight and the radiant's position can all cut the count, and some observers may see only a handful in an hour of watching.
Timing depends on where you are. In North America, the early hours of both November 17 and November 18 are worth watching. In Europe, the early hours of November 18 are the ones to focus on. The Moon should not get in the way much: it will be near first quarter at the peak and will set before the best pre-dawn viewing, leaving darker skies.
Finding the radiant is simple enough. The Leonids are named for Leo, so observers can start with Regulus, the constellation's bright star, and trace the backward question mark of stars known as the Sickle, which represents the lion's mane. But looking only at Leo is not the advice. Meteors can show up anywhere, and those seen farther from the radiant tend to leave longer, more visible trails. The shower is best seen from the Northern Hemisphere, though parts of the Southern Hemisphere can see it too. No telescope or binoculars are needed; taking in as much sky as possible works better. A dark site away from artificial lighting helps, and eyes need about 30 minutes to adjust.
The source of the shower is comet 55P/Tempel-Tuttle. Earth passes through the dust and debris the comet leaves behind, and small particles burn up in the atmosphere as bright streaks. The comet orbits the Sun on a highly elliptical path, completing one circuit about every 33 years. Its nucleus measures around 3.6 kilometres across. Ernst Tempel and Horace Tuttle discovered it independently, in 1865 and 1866. The P in its name marks it as a periodic comet, one with an orbital period under 200 years.
The Leonids are also among the fastest annual showers, with meteors entering the atmosphere at about 71 kilometres per second. That speed can produce bright fireballs and long-lasting glowing trails.
Most years the display stays modest, but not always. According to NASA, the Great Meteor Storm of 1833 sent hundreds of thousands of meteors across the sky, best seen over eastern North America in the early hours of November 13. The meteors seemed to pour out of Leo, and people across the region were woken to watch. Among them, NASA notes, was a young Abraham Lincoln. Scientists now understand that the storm happened because Earth crossed a particularly dense part of the comet's dust trail.
The comet is expected back in 2031, so the next stretch of heightened Leonid interest can be anticipated. For this week, the practical advice is plain: find dark sky, wait for your eyes to adjust, and watch the hours after midnight on November 17-18.
Bemerkenswerte Zitate
The 1833 Great Meteor Storm was a night when hundreds of thousands of meteors blazed across the sky, best seen over eastern North America before dawn on November 13.— NASA, as cited by the Times of India
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