Meteor shower

The famous Leonid meteor shower peaks between midnight and dawn on Monday (November 17) and Tuesday (November 18).

November’s wonderful Leonid meteor shower happens every year at this time, as our world moves through space. It occurs when Earth crosses the orbital path of Comet Tempel-Tuttle, which, like all comets, litters its orbit with bits of debris. It’s when this comet debris enters Earth’s atmosphere, and vaporizes, that we see the Leonid meteor shower. In 2014, the peak nights of the shower are expected from midnight to dawn on both Monday morning (November 17) and Tuesday morning (November 18). Although this shower is known for its periodic storms, no Leonid storm is expected this year. The waning crescent moon will enhance the show on the peak night, not dampen it. Also, it’ll be fun to look for the planet Jupiter, which is near the Leonid’s radiant point in 2014. Watch for the Leonids on the mornings of November 17 and 18! The mornings before and after the peak might feature meteors as well, as we pass through the Leonid meteor stream in space.

How many Leonid meteors will you see in 2014? The answer of course depends on when you watch, the clarity and darkness of your night sky. This shower has been known to produce meteor storms, but no Leonid storm is expected this year. The Leonids are usually a modest shower, with typical rates of about 10 to 15 meteors per hour at the peak, in the darkness before dawn.

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A meteor during the peak of the 2009 Leonid meteor shower. Photo via Navicore via Wikimedia Commons.

When should you watch for Leonid meteors in 2014?Knowing what time to watch is easy. As with most meteor showers, the best time to watch the Leonids is usually between the hours of midnight and dawn. The expected peak mornings are November 17 and 18. That’s themorning (not the evening) of the 17th and 18th. Fortunately, the waning light of the lunar crescent moon won’t seriously jeopardize the view of this year’s Leonid meteor shower in the morning hours.

Where should you watch the meteor shower? We hear lots of reports from people who see meteors from yards, decks, streets and especially highways in and around cities. But the best place to watch a meteor shower is always in the country. Just go far enough from town that glittering stars, the same stars drowned by city lights, begin to pop into view.

City, state and national parks are often great places to watch meteor showers. Try googling the name of your state or city with the words city park, state park or national park. Then, be sure to go to the park early in the day and find a wide open area with a good view of the sky in all directions.

When night falls, you’ll probably be impatient to see meteors. But remember that the shower is best after midnight. Catch a nap in early evening if you can. After midnight, lie back comfortably and watch as best you can in all parts of the sky. Sometimes friends like to watch together, facing different directions. When somebody sees one, they can call outmeteor! Then everyone can quickly turn to get a glimpse.

Which direction should I look to see the Leonids? Meteors in annual showers are named for the point in our sky from which they appear to radiate. This shower is named for the constellation Leo the Lion, because these meteors radiate outward from the vicinity of stars representing the Lion’s mane.

If you trace the paths of Leonid meteors backward on the sky’s dome, they do seem to stream from near the star Algieba in the constellation Leo. The point in the sky from which they appear to radiate is called the radiant point. This radiant point is an optical illusion. It’s like standing on railroad tracks and peering off into the distance to see the tracks converge. The illusion of the radiant point is caused by the fact that the meteors – much like the railroad tracks – are moving on parallel paths.

In recent years, people have gotten the mistaken idea that you must know the whereabouts of a meteor shower’s radiant point in order to watch the meteor shower. You don’t need to. The meteors often don’t become visible until they are 30 degrees or so from their radiant point. They are streaking out from the radiant in all directions.

Thus the Leonid meteors – like meteors in all annual showers – will appear in all parts of the sky.

Will the Leonids produce a meteor storm in 2014?

 No. Not this year. Most astronomers say you need more than 1,000 meteors an hour to consider a shower as a storm. That’s a far cry from the 10 to 15 meteors per hour predicted for this year. Still, even one bright meteor can make your night.The Leonid shower is known for producing meteor storms, though. The parent comet – Tempel-Tuttle – completes a single orbit around the sun about once every 33 years. It releases fresh material every time it enters the inner solar system and approaches the sun. Since the 19th century, skywatchers have watched for Leonid meteor storms about every 33 years, beginning with the meteor storm of 1833, said to produce more than 100,000meteors an hour. The next great Leonid storms were seen about 33 years later, in 1866 and 1867.

A meteor storm was predicted for 1899, but did not materialize. It wasn’t until 1966 that the next spectacular Leonid storm was seen, this time over the Americas. In 1966, observers in the southwest United States reported seeing 40 to 50 meteors per second (that’s 2,400 to 3,000 meteors per minute!) during a span of 15 minutes on the morning of November 17, 1966

Bottom line: If you want to watch the 2014 Leonid meteor shower, just know that the waning crescent moon won’t substantially interfere on the peak mornings of November 17 and 18. Find a dark sky location. Plan to watch between the hours of midnight and dawn. Bring along a blanket or lawn chair and spend at least an hour watching. Look for the planet Jupiter near the Leonids’ radiant point. And enjoy.

A meteor shower is a celestial event in which a number of meteors are observed to radiate, or originate, from one point in the night sky. These meteors are caused by streams of cosmic debris called meteoroids entering Earth's atmosphere at extremely high speeds on parallel trajectories. Most meteors are smaller than a grain of sand, so almost all of them disintegrate and never hit the Earth's surface. Intense or unusual meteor showers are known as meteor outbursts and meteor storms, which may produce greater than 1,000 meteors an hour. The Meteor Data Center lists about 600 suspected meteor showers of which about 100 are well established.