APOD: Leonid Meteors Through Orion (2022 Nov 28)

[APOD Robot]

Leonid Meteors Through Orion

Explanation: Where will the next meteor appear? Even during a meteor shower, it is practically impossible to know. Therefore, a good way to enjoy a meteor shower is to find a place where you can sit comfortably and monitor a great expanse of dark sky. And it may be satisfying to share this experience with a friend. The meteor shower depicted was the 2022 Leonids which peaked earlier this month, and the view is from Hainan, China looking out over the South China Sea. Meteor streaks captured over a few hours were isolated and added to a foreground image recorded earlier. From this place and time, Leonid meteors that trace back to the constellation of Leo were seen streaking across other constellations including Orion. The bright red planet Mars appears near the top of the image. Bonding over their love of astronomy, the two pictured meteor enthusiasts, shown celebrating their common birthday this month, are now married.

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[orin stepanek]

Beautiful night sky watched by B-day lovers!

Kitty cats hugging!

[De58te]

Impressive. But why don't I have any luck when I go to view a meteor show. For years now when I go out during the peaks, I'll be lucky if I spot one in 10 minutes of watching! And I live out on a farm in the country so the skies are relatively dark. The last time I seen 3 flash at the same time was I recall in the same year that comet Hale-Bopp was in the sky. I'm just a jinx with watching shooting stars.

[Chris Peterson]

Impressive. But why don't I have any luck when I go to view a meteor show. For years now when I go out during the peaks, I'll be lucky if I spot one in 10 minutes of watching! And I live out on a farm in the country so the skies are relatively dark. The last time I seen 3 flash at the same time was I recall in the same year that comet Hale-Bopp was in the sky. I'm just a jinx with watching shooting stars.

Most showers, including the Leonids, are pretty weak. You need to watch with a lot of concentration and you're lucky if you see more than one every few minutes. It's easy to get bored and lose focus, and then you miss even more. Visual observation of meteor showers is a learned skill.

There are really only two showers that produce solid results, the Perseids and the Geminids, especially the latter. The Geminids are coming up December 14. The Moon will interfere this year, but from a dark site with clear skies you should still be able to stand outside for 15 or 20 minutes and see some good ones. They are slow, colorful, and produce a lot of fireballs.

[DonB312]

I find this APOD to be especially beautiful. I like the balance and hues of the colors. I like the beautiful couple that are enjoying the meteor shower and I wish them much happiness in their marriage. I also appreciate the annotations.

Way back in the late 1990's or maybe it was early 2000's I dragged myself out of bed and went out at about 4:00am to see a meteor shower (I think it was the Leonid meteor shower but it has been so long ago that I don't remember for sure). When I got outside I was disappointed that it was cloudy. But having pried myself out of bed I went ahead and waited a bit. I almost gave up but then I noticed the clouds dispersing until most of the sky was clear. At first there was only one meteor every few minutes But the frequency increased until I was seeing one or two meteors every minute. Finally, the frequency diminished and the cloud cover returned. It was wonderful. I counted over 100 meteors per hour.

Kitty cats hugging!

Hi Orin,

I share your love of cute critters so I appreciate your posts that include such pictures, . Each day when I go to APOD I try to guess which link will be to a picture of kittens or puppies. It's always a bit disappointing when no such link exists . I found today's kittens to be especially adorable.

[Chris Peterson]

I find this APOD to be especially beautiful. I like the balance and hues of the colors. I like the beautiful couple that are enjoying the meteor shower and I wish them much happiness in their marriage. I also appreciate the annotations.

Way back in the late 1990's or maybe it was early 2000's I dragged myself out of bed and went out at about 4:00am to see a meteor shower (I think it was the Leonid meteor shower but it has been so long ago that I don't remember for sure). When I got outside I was disappointed that it was cloudy. But having pried myself out of bed I went ahead and waited a bit. I almost gave up but then I noticed the clouds dispersing until most of the sky was clear. At first there was only one meteor every few minutes But the frequency increased until I was seeing one or two meteors every minute. Finally, the frequency diminished and the cloud cover returned. It was wonderful. I counted over 100 meteors per hour.

Yes, the Leonids stormed in 1999, with rates as high as several thousand an hour. This shower is caused by debris from Comet Tempel-Tuttle, which has a 33-year period. Near perihelion it releases a lot of debris, so we tend to see high activity every 33 years, coinciding with this. Activity is likely to be high again in 2033, although the conditions are not ideal for another storm (over 1000 per hour). But we may see several hundred per hour.

[johnnydeep]

I find this APOD to be especially beautiful. I like the balance and hues of the colors. I like the beautiful couple that are enjoying the meteor shower and I wish them much happiness in their marriage. I also appreciate the annotations.

Way back in the late 1990's or maybe it was early 2000's I dragged myself out of bed and went out at about 4:00am to see a meteor shower (I think it was the Leonid meteor shower but it has been so long ago that I don't remember for sure). When I got outside I was disappointed that it was cloudy. But having pried myself out of bed I went ahead and waited a bit. I almost gave up but then I noticed the clouds dispersing until most of the sky was clear. At first there was only one meteor every few minutes But the frequency increased until I was seeing one or two meteors every minute. Finally, the frequency diminished and the cloud cover returned. It was wonderful. I counted over 100 meteors per hour.

Yes, the Leonids stormed in 1999, with rates as high as several thousand an hour. This shower is caused by debris from Comet Tempel-Tuttle, which has a 33-year period. Near perihelion it releases a lot of debris, so we tend to see high activity every 33 years, coinciding with this. Activity is likely to be high again in 2033, although the conditions are not ideal for another storm (over 1000 per hour). But we may see several hundred per hour.

Why won't conditions be similar in 33 years? And how do we know that now?

[Chris Peterson]

I find this APOD to be especially beautiful. I like the balance and hues of the colors. I like the beautiful couple that are enjoying the meteor shower and I wish them much happiness in their marriage. I also appreciate the annotations.

Way back in the late 1990's or maybe it was early 2000's I dragged myself out of bed and went out at about 4:00am to see a meteor shower (I think it was the Leonid meteor shower but it has been so long ago that I don't remember for sure). When I got outside I was disappointed that it was cloudy. But having pried myself out of bed I went ahead and waited a bit. I almost gave up but then I noticed the clouds dispersing until most of the sky was clear. At first there was only one meteor every few minutes But the frequency increased until I was seeing one or two meteors every minute. Finally, the frequency diminished and the cloud cover returned. It was wonderful. I counted over 100 meteors per hour.

Yes, the Leonids stormed in 1999, with rates as high as several thousand an hour. This shower is caused by debris from Comet Tempel-Tuttle, which has a 33-year period. Near perihelion it releases a lot of debris, so we tend to see high activity every 33 years, coinciding with this. Activity is likely to be high again in 2033, although the conditions are not ideal for another storm (over 1000 per hour). But we may see several hundred per hour.

Why won't conditions be similar in 33 years? And how do we know that now?

Just where in the debris stream the Earth crosses, and where both the comet and Earth are in their orbits can make for stronger or weaker showers. We can calculate all of these things quite accurately.

[johnnydeep]

Yes, the Leonids stormed in 1999, with rates as high as several thousand an hour. This shower is caused by debris from Comet Tempel-Tuttle, which has a 33-year period. Near perihelion it releases a lot of debris, so we tend to see high activity every 33 years, coinciding with this. Activity is likely to be high again in 2033, although the conditions are not ideal for another storm (over 1000 per hour). But we may see several hundred per hour.

Why won't conditions be similar in 33 years? And how do we know that now?

Just where in the debris stream the Earth crosses, and where both the comet and Earth are in their orbits can make for stronger or weaker showers. We can calculate all of these things quite accurately.

Ah - thanks! Obviously, the debris isn't uniformly distributed over the orbit of the comet.

[DonB312]

Yes, the Leonids stormed in 1999, with rates as high as several thousand an hour. This shower is caused by debris from Comet Tempel-Tuttle, which has a 33-year period. Near perihelion it releases a lot of debris, so we tend to see high activity every 33 years, coinciding with this. Activity is likely to be high again in 2033, although the conditions are not ideal for another storm (over 1000 per hour). But we may see several hundred per hour.

Thanks Chris for pointing out which meteor shower that was. I will make a note of it for future reference. I was watching the shower from my backyard which is located mid way between Dallas and Fort Worth, Texas. So it was was pretty extraordinary for me to be able to see multiple meteors per minute in that light pollution. I do remember hearing that from dark skies one could see over 1000 per hour as you mentioned.

[heehaw]

I remember vividly when I was a teen traveling with my parents down the California coast. We stayed overnight at a motel about half way between San Fran and LA. Talk about a DARK sky!. I had just learned to identify the constellations, but, no way Jose! Could not identify one! And, a few meteors.

[orin stepanek]

I find this APOD to be especially beautiful. I like the balance and hues of the colors. I like the beautiful couple that are enjoying the meteor shower and I wish them much happiness in their marriage. I also appreciate the annotations.

Way back in the late 1990's or maybe it was early 2000's I dragged myself out of bed and went out at about 4:00am to see a meteor shower (I think it was the Leonid meteor shower but it has been so long ago that I don't remember for sure). When I got outside I was disappointed that it was cloudy. But having pried myself out of bed I went ahead and waited a bit. I almost gave up but then I noticed the clouds dispersing until most of the sky was clear. At first there was only one meteor every few minutes But the frequency increased until I was seeing one or two meteors every minute. Finally, the frequency diminished and the cloud cover returned. It was wonderful. I counted over 100 meteors per hour.

Kitty cats hugging!

Hi Orin,

I share your love of cute critters so I appreciate your posts that include such pictures, . Each day when I go to APOD I try to guess which link will be to a picture of kittens or puppies. It's always a bit disappointing when no such link exists . I found today's kittens to be especially adorable.

Happy to put smiles on faces! Sometimes there isn't cats or dogs in the APOD!



't cats or dogs in th APOD!