November is a perfect month to sit and gaze up at the sky and watch the bright meteor showers.
This year, the best time to see the expected Leonid Meteor Shower will be at night between Wednesday 17 and Thursday 18 November , when the sky will be pierced by the meteor spike generated by debris and particles from Comet 55P / Tempel- Tuttle.
The orbital period of this star is 33.2 years, so each time this time elapses a great shower of stars can be observed from our planet. Something that will not happen again until 2031.
The Moon will not obstruct the view this year, so it can be even more spectacular than ever. Experts say that between 10 and 20 meteors per hour can be seen in conditions of perfect darkness without a moon (in fact, during the observation peak only 5% of the lunar disk will be illuminated). But convince yourself that a single bright meteor can create a memory that will last a lifetime. Of course, you will have to get away from the cities and go to places with few obstacles to the visual field such as buildings or mountains (and better in an area where there is little pollution and the sky is clearer). Again, out of town.
Its radiant is in the constellation of Leo, right at the head of the Lion, from where the meteors will depart . Towards the southeast. These fragments will enter our atmosphere from the comet, those rocks wrapped in ice that when they approach the Sun, release small pieces of ice and small rocks from their surface, due to the heat they receive from the star. The particles remain floating in space coinciding with the orbit of the comet and when these pieces of rock collide with our atmosphere, some at speeds of up to 72 km / s, at such a speed, they mostly disintegrate, revealing in our night sky a bright light that runs through the sky .
As we said, the radiant is located just below the lion’s head, but do not look directly at it when looking for shooting stars, as meteors appear in all directions around the radiant, so ideally you should “scan” the skies around that location. The best time, between 4:00 a.m. and 6:00 a.m., just when the Moon begins to set behind the horizon, before sunrise.
The Leonids can be seen from November 6 to 30.
Remember that it is not necessary to use telescopes or binoculars, since meteor showers can be seen with the naked eye. Of course, if you like photography, we do recommend, at a minimum, use a tripod and a reflex camera to immortalize the moment.
If for any circumstance it will not be possible for you to go to an area of dark skies or even leave the house, you will be able to see it through the internet , since platforms such as Sky Live will offer the astronomical event live on http://sky-live.tv .
