Starship Asterisk*

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This year, the Leonid meteor shower best viewing will be in the two to three hours before dawn on November 17 and 18, according to the editors of StarDate magazine.

There is always some uncertainty in the number of meteors the Leonid shower will produce, but viewers should expect to see at least 20 meteors per hour if they have clear skies. The nearly full Moon will set several hours before dawn, and therefore not wash out any meteors in the hours immediately before dawn.

Leonid meteors appear to fall from the constellation Leo, the lion, but they are not associated with it. They are leftover debris from comet Tempel-Tuttle. As the comet orbits the Sun, it leaves a trail of debris. The Leonids meteors recur each year when Earth passes through the comet’s debris trail.

Each time comet Tempel-Tuttle gets closest to the Sun in its orbit, called "perihelion," it sheds a significant amount of material. This creates clumps along its orbit. If Earth passes through one of these clumps this year, viewers could see hundreds of meteors per hour at the shower's peak. If Earth simply passes through the "normal" part of the comet's debris trail, the number of meteors visible will be much lower.

For your best view, get away from city lights. Look for state or city parks or other safe, dark sites. Lie on a blanket or reclining chair to get a full-sky view. If you can see all of the stars in the Little Dipper, you have good dark-adapted vision.

Dick Dionne wrote:Beginners luck...... (or not?)
Would the original image be more desirable than a cropped image?
Bet you can't tell I'm new to this.
http://www.pbase.com/redionne/image/130467466

Dick Dionne wrote:http://i.pbase.com/o4/32/739432/1/13046 ... Leonid.jpg

Chris Peterson wrote:I had kind of cloudy, snowy weather this year, so I only captured 50 Leonids over three nights. Hoping to do better with the upcoming Geminids, which is usually the best meteor shower of the year.

Click to view full size image

Some more info about the meteors I recorded, including some videos, is
here.

Matteo Morino wrote:This is a webcam!!??
Only 50 Leonids but... ....very fine!