The Leonid meteor shower will peak on Monday, Nov. 17 night and Tuesday, Nov. 18 early morning.
The Leonid meteor shower, also known as the Leonids, originate from the Leo constellation and usually peak around mid-November each year. The Leonids are considered as one of the major meteor showers of the year that can be seen from the Earth. However, the rate that meteor appear is often slow at about 15 meteors per hour.
The Leonid meteor shower is normally bright and can sometimes be colorful as well. The Leonids are one of the fastest moving meteors that travels at about 71 km, or 44 miles, per second. The Leonid meteor shower occurs when the Earth moves through the dust grains that comet Tempel-Tuttle left behind.
Astronomers suggest that the Leonids will start appearing in the night sky after 22:00 Universal Time (UT), or 5:00 p.m. EST. However, the best time to view the Leonids will be just before dawn when the sky is quite dark. The waning-crescent moon will provide dark sky, which will make viewing condition ideal. The meteor shower will also appear in all parts of the sky.
The U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) explains that usually Earth experiences a Leonid storm every 33 years. During this time, viewers can witness hundreds and thousands on meteors per hour, which depends on the location of a viewer.
"A meteor storm versus a shower is defined as having at least 1,000 meteors per hour. Viewers in 1966 experienced a spectacular Leonid storm: thousands of meteors per minute fell through Earth's atmosphere during a 15 minute period. There were so many meteors seen that they appeared to fall like rain," per NASA.
Sky gazers experienced the last Leonid storm in 2002. So avid meteor watchers will have to wait a couple of decades to witness the Leonid meteor storm again.
Leonid meteor showers are also well-known for their fireballs, which are explosions of light that can appear in the sky for extended periods of time when compared to a regular meteor streak.
The Leonid meteor shower is an annual occurrence. If you miss the celestial event, you will have to wait till next November to witness the colorful meteor shower. After Leonid meteor shower sky gazers will also have an opportunity to view the Geminids that will peak in early December this year.
