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The meteor shower Leonid, which moves quickly, culminates this weekend, with good chances to see them in the hours before dawn Saturday, November 17 and Sunday, November 18. The weather conditions in New Hampshire could quite work for the annual show. The forecasts for the next hours announce a cloudy sky to partly cloudy.
Most experts say the best chance of seeing shooting stars is around 3am on Saturday, as the moon will set shortly after midnight in most countries of the world, but the early Sunday morning will also work. Leonids usually produce between 10 and 15 meteors per hour. The moon sets around 12:35 on the east coast. To know the exact time of the moon where you live, go here.
Meteors can be colored and produce fireballs, that is, brighter, taller meteors that can leave colorful marks. And did we mention that they are fast? They cross the sky at around 44 km / s, making it one of the fastest meteors.
Some years, the meteor shower Leonid produces explosions, but it is unlikely that it will be any of them, according to Earthsky.org. Some years they produce up to 1,000 meteors at the time. The last time was in 2001.
The Leonids, associated with the comet Tempel-Tuttle, take their name from the Leo Leo constellation and come from the stars that make up Leo's mane. And although they radiate from this part of the sky, it is not necessary to locate the constellation. Weather permitting, you can see them from any part of the sky.
But if you want to locate Leo Leo, look at the horizon. He begins his ascent into the sky after midnight and, when he reaches the highest point, most of the meteors will be visible.
There are only a few rains of meteors before the schedule is postponed to 2019.
The Geminid meteor shower, which comes from the Gemini constellation, is usually the best of the year, producing up to 120 multicolored meteors per hour at its peak on December 13th and 14th. The shower runs from December 7 to 17 and is produced by the debris left by the Asteroid 3200 Phaethon, discovered in 1982. The viewing conditions should be excellent as the first moon quarter will settle shortly after midnight, leaving a dark sky. The prime time is very early in the morning, but the Geminids are also active before midnight.
The last meteor shower of the year is minor and often neglected. The Ursides meteor shower, which runs from the 17th to the 25th and peaks from December 21st to 22nd, produces between 5 and 10 meteors an hour, although occasional explosions produced 25 or more per hour. A full moon, however, will erase all except the brightest. The Ursids originate from the constellation Ursa Major and are produced by the dust particles left by the comet Tuttle discovered in 1790. The best viewing hours are after midnight.
(Photo by Bill Ingalls / NASA viaGetty Images)
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