Thursday, November 18, 2010

Leonid Meteor Shower 2010: View Tonight

The Leonid meteor shower of 2010 is at its peak tonight and tomorrow November 17 and 18. The Leonid meteor shower is leftover debris from the comet Tempel-Tuttle. This spectacular event happens every year, and is highly anticipated by people around the world.

Joe Rao, a sky watching columnist for space.com stated, “From the time of moonset until around 5:15 a.m. – when the first streaks of dawn begin to appear in the east Ñ the sky will be dark and moonless. That interval will provide you with your best opportunity to see any Leonid meteors.”

Most people are excited to hear about the chance of viewing a beautiful sky show such as this. Those of you who engage in watching the skies tonight, should expect to see between 15 and 20 meteors per hour. As you can see from the picture, the best time to watch for the Leonid meteors will be the last two or three hours before sunrise. Happy meteor gazing!



Photo credit: Stardate

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