“This year’s Leonid meteor shower is almost perfectly timed to coincide with the new moon…”
WALTER PACHOLKA, ASTROPICS/SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY
There is something magical about watching a meteor shower. Part of this is due to the unpredictability of the shower: conditions may seem ideal, but you may still be underwhelmed, especially when you are promised hundreds of meteors per hour. But there are times when you gather friends to enjoy a show together and you're only happy to see a handful of shooting stars.
This year's Leonid meteor shower is almost perfectly timed to coincide with the new moon, giving us a great chance to see plenty of meteors rushing across the sky. There may not be hundreds of them every hour, but I still recommend trying to watch.
Meteor showers happen around the same time every year because they coincide with the Earth's path around the sun, taking us through patches of debris left behind by passing comets and asteroids. This causes more dust particles than normal to enter our atmosphere, where they burn up in bright meteor flashes.
The Leonid meteor shower is created from dust left behind by the 3.6-kilometer-diameter comet Tempel-Tuttle, which orbits the sun every 33 years. As the Leonids approach, they become a meteor storm rather than a meteor shower, with thousands of meteors visible every hour. The last storm happened in 2002, so we can’t expect another one in the next 10 years.
However, you'll have an excellent chance of seeing meteors like the one pictured if you're lucky and have clear skies. The Leonids meteor shower will begin on November 6th and will be active until the end of the month, but will peak on the evening of November 17th until the morning of the 18th. The new moon in November is on the 20th, so on the evening of peak rain it will be a very thin waning crescent. The best time to search is just after midnight local time, no matter where you live. Compared to other meteor showers, the Leonids tend to have a gradual peak, so it's worth paying attention to the days around the 17th if you have a clear night on either side.
Meteor showers are named after the constellation from which the meteors appear to come, but that doesn't mean you need to find Leo to see the Leonids. However, the constellation Leo is easy to spot and is visible from most of the world, except at extreme southern latitudes. To find Leo, look for its iconic inverted question mark or sickle pattern. It will be near the Plow, or Ursa Major, in the sky. If you need more help finding it, you can use the app on your phone.
To get the most out of a meteor shower, first get warm and comfortable. The show may involve sitting still for a long time, so I recommend a heating pad and a way to look up without hurting your neck. Stay as far away from light pollution as possible. But if you want to watch from home, turn off the lights and let your eyes adjust. Enjoy!
These articles are published every week on the website
newscientist.com/maker
Abigail Bill is the function editor in New scientist and author The Art of Urban Astronomy. Follow her @abbybeall
