In October, we had witnessed the spectacular Orionid meteor shower. And now, we are about to witness the Leonid meteor shower for November 2009. Considered as one of the best annual meteor showers, Leonid meteor showers will peak late on Monday the 16th, in the pre-dawn hours of Tuesday the 17th and also on Wednesday the 18th. Look towards the east starting at around 1:00 a.m. EST, around the constellation Leo. This is where the radiant lies, which is the direction from which the meteros will be streaking from. The front row seats for this year's display are in Asia, but North American observers can view them at average performance if weather permits. The trick is to head outside in the wee hours of the morning between 1 a.m. and dawn regardless where you live, but away from urban or suburban lighting.
The Leonids are created by the comet Tempel-Tuttle, which passes through the inner solar system every 33 years on its orbit around the sun. Each time by, it leaves a new river of debris, mostly bits of ice and rock no bigger than a sand grain but a few the size of a pea or marble.
Telescopes and binoculars are unnecessary equipments to use because meteor showers move too fast. Dressed in warm clothes, you just need to lie back on a blanket or a lounge chair then give your eyes 15 minutes to adjust to the darkness.
Earth will pass through one of the denser debris streams at around 4 a.m. EST (1 a.m. PST) Tuesday so it's best to watch the show during this hour. Across Europe, it is best to watch anytime between 1 a.m. and daybreak local time.
Leonid meteors streak across the sky over Joshua Tree National Park in California on November 18, 2001. The horizontal streaks are stars and planets caught moving in the long-exposure photograph.
Photograph by Reed Saxon, AP
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