It is very important stress once more that on the outset that any suggestion of a spectacular meteor Leonid show this 12 months is, to place it mildly, overly optimistic.
Until the Leonid meteor bathe supplies an unexpectedly wealthy bathe at its most on Sunday morning (Nov. 17), this 12 months’s show will probably be ruined by the moon, which is able to flip full on the 15. If the bathe is at its regular peak energy of 10 to twenty meteors per hour, little or nothing could also be seen within the moonlit sky.
In any occasion, the hour simply earlier than the break of daybreak, when the Sickle of Leo is excessive within the south-southeast sky and the moon is descending within the west, will provide essentially the most promise.
Hardly a “bathe,” extra like a drizzle
TOP TELESCOPE PIICK:
Need to see the night time sky up shut? The Celestron NexStar 4SE is good for newcomers wanting high quality, dependable and fast views of celestial objects. For a extra in-depth have a look at our Celestron NexStar 4SE assessment.
The time period “meteor bathe” is a really misleading misnomer. When the mainstream media broadcasts an impending meteor bathe, most individuals envision a sky stuffed with taking pictures stars pouring down via the sky like rain. Such meteor storms have certainly occurred with the well-known November Leonids, resembling in 1833 and 1966 when meteors fell at stupendous charges in extra of 100,000 per hour. In more moderen years, most notably 1999, 2001 and 2002, lesser Leonid shows of up to a couple thousand meteors per hour happened.
These turn-of-the-century Leonid showers — and their accompanying hype — are nonetheless remembered by many. Yearly at the moment, there may be at all times a ripple of pleasure within the data that the height of the Leonid meteor bathe is approaching.
So, though the Leonids are some of the well-known of all of the annual meteor showers we actually wouldn’t promote them as a significant bathe this 12 months, particularly to a newcomer to meteor observing, since they seemingly will probably be weak and badly affected by the extraordinary moonlight.
Comet crumbs
The Leonids are so named as a result of the bathe’s radiant level, from the place the meteors appear to fan out, is situated throughout the constellation of Leo the Lion. The meteors are attributable to the Periodic Tempel-Tuttle comet, which sweeps via the interior photo voltaic system each 33.3 years. Every time the comet passes closest to the solar it leaves a “river of rubble” in its wake; a dense path of dusty particles. A meteor storm turns into doable if the Earth have been to attain a direct hit on a contemporary mud path ejected by the comet over the previous couple of centuries.
However the 2024 Leonids are anticipated to indicate solely low exercise this 12 months with at finest 10 to perhaps 20 meteors per hour. Russian meteor professional Mikhail Maslov has issued his 2024 forecast for the Leonids, discovering nothing uncommon anticipated.
However as we have already famous, the “conventional” peak for the Leonids is scheduled for the predawn hours of Sunday, Nov. 17 and the almost full moon will probably be shining brightly like a highlight within the western sky, not removed from Jupiter throughout the constellation of Taurus the Bull, making observations troublesome.
The right way to observe and what to search for
Watching a meteor bathe consists of mendacity again, wanting up on the sky … and ready. Along with this 12 months’s handicap of a brilliant moon lighting up the sky, understand that any native mild air pollution or obstructions like tall bushes or buildings will additional scale back your probabilities of making a meteor sighting.
Leo doesn’t begin coming totally into view till the after-midnight hours, so that might be one of the best time to focus on on the lookout for Leonids. Additionally, as a result of they’re shifting alongside of their orbit across the solar in a route reverse to that of Earth, they slam into our environment almost head-on, ensuing within the quickest meteor velocities doable: 45 miles (72 km) per second. Such speeds have a tendency to supply brilliant meteors, which depart long-lasting streaks or vapor trains of their wake.
Nonetheless, a mighty Leonid fireball could be fairly spectacular and brilliant sufficient to draw consideration even within the brilliant moonlight. However such outstandingly brilliant meteors are prone to be only a few and really far between this 12 months.
Whereas this 12 months’s Leonids could be disappointing, now we have the Geminids subsequent month to sit up for, which peaks the night time of Dec. 13-14. That will help you prepare, take a look at our information on how you can {photograph} meteors and meteor showers.
And make sure to examine our information to the night time sky for tonight, up to date day by day with what it is advisable know for watching the skies.
Joe Rao serves as an teacher and visitor lecturer at New York’s Hayden Planetarium. He writes about astronomy for Pure Historical past journal, the Farmers’ Almanac and different publications.
