Leonid Meteor Showers

The Leonid meteor showers are currently in a period of “strong” activity with several astronomers predicting a peak rate of 1000 to 4000 meteors per hour on the early morning of November 18^th with the predicted times of maximum activity from 2:00 a.m. PST to about 2:30 a.m. PST.

While November 18^th is the predicted maximum, Leonid meteor showers should occur from the early morning hours of November 14^th through November 20^th. The moon will not be a factor during this viewing time.

Meteors will appear to radiate from the constellation Leo which appears as a backwards question mark in the sky and will rise at about 12:30 a.m. PST in the eastern sky. In the hour prior to this time some secular red meteors called “grazers” may appear above the eastern horizon. As the constellation appears to move across the sky meteors should be visible in the early morning twilight.

For best viewing lay out on a reclining lawn chair or blanket with feet pointed to the east. Look above or to the sides of Leo rather then looking directly at it.

The Leonids are a result of dust left from the orbit of comet Tempel-Tuttle that most recently passed near the sun in February 1998.

Meteor displays of 480 per hour occurred in 2000. Regardless of the number of meteors, the Leonids are usually very bright and their trains can last from several seconds to several minutes. The Leonids enter the earth’s astrosphere at speeds of over 158,000 miles per hour.

The predicted peak is early Sunday morning.