The Leonid meteor shower is gracing the night skies this week. It will reveal its majestic beauty once it launches a firework display of shooting stars on the night of Nov. 17 until dawn of Nov. 18.
This amazing sight actually takes place every year, around the same time, so stargazers always wait for this event when November comes. As posted on AccuWeather, this particular annual shower turn up when the Earth travels through the scattered fragments left behind by the Comet Temple-Tuttle, a small celestial object that revolves around the sun every 33 years.
Although the Leonid meteor shower only sprinkle about 15 meteors in an hour, it is seen as one of the major showers. Moreover, this type of meteor is usually luminous and multicolored. It is the deemed to be the fastest among the shooting stars, with a speed of 71 km. per second when hitting the Earth's firmament, according to NASA. With this speed, a shower can possibly create a sensational show of falling fireballs.
"Leonids are also known for their fireballs and earthgrazer meteors. Fireballs are larger explosions of light and color that can persist longer than an average meteor streak," NASA explained.
AccuWeather further said that based on their estimation, around 20 states in mid-western US regions will not see the shower due to storm system or big portions of clouds that could obstruct the view. The best places to watch the Leonids are in Southern California where it had been predicted to have clear skies.
"A large storm system is expected to encompass most of the United States in cloud cover for the middle of the week," said Dave Samuhel, a Meteorologist from AccuWeather.
NASA's Tips for Better Viewing of the Meteor Shower
The best time for viewing is from midnight until dawn. Find a dark location that will also let you see the whole sky. And since it might be too cold outside, come prepared with a blanket or sleeping bag.
The experts also advised that it's much better to lie on your back and look up the sky. Staring in the dark for less than thirty minutes will let the eyes adjust to the darkness and you will start to see the meteors.
Lastly, the agency urged everyone not to use a telescope because the naked eye is enough.
But if you still want to see the meteors through binoculars, their advice is to point the attention to moon's earthlit night side. In this way, you can catch flashes from the Leonid meteor impacts on its night-side part of the celestial sphere.
