Despite the fame of the Perseids, this week we can enjoy the fastest meteor shower there is: the Leonids. Meteors can be seen each year between November 15 and 21; This year, the best days to observe them will be between November 16 and 18 .
The remnants of comet 55P / Tempel-Tuttle (the one that gives rise to this shower) will come from the constellation of Leo , hence its name, and are characterized by being meteors of a slightly reddish color, very fast and that leave a slight trail green in color as it passes, which persists for several seconds.
The comet was discovered on December 19, 1865 and has an orbital period of 33.2 years, at which point it reaches its maximum intensity as the comet passes through perihelion. It is precisely these moments that have given rise, at different times in history, to spectacular meteor storms that have come to show more than a thousand meteors per hour.
The comet (or rather, the fragments that penetrate the atmosphere), just over 1 kilometer wide and that this meteor shower will leave us, will not be alone in the sky, since the Leonids will coincide with two meteor showers minors : Alpha-Monocerotids, whose maximum will be on November 21; and the Northern Taurids, whose maximum was on November 12. Three meteor showers in the same period.
The Léonids can reach about 71km / s crossing the sky and, luckily, this year the Moon will not obstruct the vision since it is in a waning phase. The best for observation, a dark place, away from light pollution.
As a curiosity, the year 2031 will mark a new milestone in this meteor shower , since the climax of the comet’s orbit will take place: its passage of perihelion. That year, the show will be great and memorable.
