11/15/12 Leonid Meteor Shower

Many will get a special treat this weekend when the Leonid meteor show arrives in the early hours of Saturday morning, November 17th. The shower, named after the Leo constellation will be white or bluish white in color. While most are faint, some do appear notably bright, and leave glowing trains in their wake.

This year will differ slightly than normal years in that the Leonids are expected to show two peaks of activity, one on Saturday morning (Nov. 17) and another on Tuesday morning (Nov. 20). A perk this year is that the moon will not be a problem for this year’s shower. A downfall for this year, is that at best, there will be 10 to 15 meteors per hour Saturday morning, which is well below normal.

As with any astronomical event, the showers will be better the further you get from city lights, and will be brightest in the Northeastern horizon.

 

Sources: National Geographic, space.com, NWS