See the 2017 Leonid Meteor Shower at Its Peak: What to Expect

[Judi Lynn]

By Joe Rao, Space.com Skywatching Columnist | November 16, 2017 05:03pm ET

The famous Leonid meteor shower is predicted to reach its peak in the predawn hours on Friday (Nov. 17). Weather permitting, observing conditions will be perfect: There's a new moon on Saturday, which means that the sky will be dark with no hindrance whatsoever from moonlight.

But don't expect to see a lot of meteors. In fact, a single observer will likely see no more than 10 to 15 of these meteors per hour emanating from the "sickle" of Leo, the lion.

Hence the moniker for these meteors: the "Leonids." The sickle — a star pattern that looks like a backward question mark and outlines the "mane" of Leo the lion — rises above the east-northeast horizon around 11 p.m. local time. By about 5 a.m. local time, this eye-catching star pattern will have ascended to a position high in the south-southeast part of the sky. [Most Amazing Leonid Meteor Shower Photos]

The Leonid meteor shower is an extremely variable event that happens every year when Earth's orbit crosses a trail of comet crumbs left behind by Comet Tempel-Tuttle. A dense swarm of Leonid meteors returns to Earth about every 33 years, or about the time it takes for Tempel-Tuttle to orbit the sun.

More:
https://www.space.com/38804-leonid-meteor-shower-2017-peaks-now.html?utm_source=notification

[d_r]

1. I saw some camping last weekend

worth waking up for and not that early with time chage