” Leonids Meteor shower 2022 written by Meenakshi Kalimuthu”
Stargazing is a rich and exciting experience. Whether you’re witnessing a falling star from your window or seeing the jewel of the sky that’s our crescent moon from the telescope, you’ll enjoy it. It’s the perfect pastime to spend with your friends and family. As this year is coming to an end it brings in more treats to the eyes. Leonids Meteor shower is observed to be seen in the month of November this year.
A meteor show is an astronomical miracle where numerous meteors (i.e small rocky bodies in external space) are seen to be coming from one point in the night sky. When Earth encounters numerous meteoroids at once, it’s called a meteor shower. The Leonids are one of the most prolific periodic meteor showers associated with the comet Tempel – Tuttle. It is a periodic comet that has an orbital period of 33 years. Leonids is a fast and bright meteor shower.
About every 33 years (period of Tempel- Tuttle), the Leonids produce meteor storms. This is when you can see hundreds or thousands of shooting stars in the sky. In history similar storms were seen in the following times- 1799, 1833, 1866, 1966 and 1999- 2001. The 1999- 2001 storms were seen producing about 3000 meteors per hour.
The famous Leonids meteor shower produced one of the topmost meteor storms humankind has ever seen. Its rates were as high as thousands of meteors per minute during a 15- minutes span on the morning of 17th November 1966. That night, Leonid meteors did, compactly, fall like rain. Leonid meteor storms occasionally reoccur in cycles of 33 to 34 years.
This year the Leonids meteor shower can be seen active from 6th November to 30th November, producing its peak rate of meteors around 17 – 18 November between night and dawn. During this time, there will be a chance of seeing Leonid meteors whenever the shower’s radiant point (i.e. the constellation Leo) is above the horizon.
From Mumbai, the shower can’t be seen before around 12:23 AM each night when its radiant point rises above Mumbai’s eastern horizon. It’ll then remain active until dawn breaks around 06:21 AM.
The shower is anticipated to reach peak exertion at around 06:00 AM IST on 18th November 2022, and so the best effects can be seen before dawn on 18 November.
The name of this meteor comes because the radiant is at the head or sickle of the zodiac constellation Leo. Meteors in annual showers get their names from the point in the starry sky from which they appear to originate. The debris that forms this meteor shower originates from a small comet called 55P/ Tempel- Tuttle in the constellation Leo.
How can one see Leonids Meteor shower?
Like other meteors, you do not need any binoculars or telescopes to witness the amazing Leonids Meteor shower. They can be seen with the naked eye but you need to acclimate your eyes to the darkness. Make sure you don’t miss the peak at which the Leonids Meteor shower will radiate. When witnessing the Leonids Meteor shower, make sure the location you choose isn’t polluted and there aren’t many street lights around.
In what direction can I find the Leonids Meteor shower?
There’s a myth that, you must know the whereabouts of a meteor shower’s radiant point (the point from which the meteor showers appears to originate) to watch the meteor shower. But you do not need to. Leonids Meteor shower can be seen in all parts of the night sky, so you need to be in a wide open space in order to get a good view. You can scan the night sky with your eyes. Moreover, it’s better to look away from the radiant as they will appear long from this view. If you look directly at the radiant the meteors will look smaller.
