In the penultimate month of the year and after witnessing the Taurid meteor shower that took place on November 4, an astronomical spectacle without equal awaits us: probably the best meteor shower of 2015, the Leonids .
The Leonid meteor shower will have its peak of activity in the early morning of November 17 to 18 (maximum at 04.55 peninsular time), at which time about 20 meteors per hour are expected (up to a maximum of 30) and characterized for being very bright, extremely fast and leaving a slight green trail in their wake, which persists for several seconds.
The meteors in this shower will come from the Constellation of Leo, since it is the radiant where the remains of Comet 55P / Tempel-Tuttle will emerge, discovered on December 19, 1865 and with an orbital period of 33.2 years, at which time that reaches its maximum intensity when passing through perihelion.
Thanks to the fact that the Moon will be in the crescent phase, the observation of the shooting stars will not be overshadowed and, under the premises of a dark sky and an area without light pollution, we only have to prepare to raise our eyes and enjoy the astronomical phenomenon. which takes place from November 6 to 30.
This 2015 we will have a fairly low frequency of fireballs and we will have to wait until 2031 to witness a real exhibition. As a curious fact, in 1966, the rates of these meteors observed in the southern United States were more than 100,000 an hour . Who knows if by that time in 15 years we will see a show with similar characteristics.
