Leonids 2013 – Leonids Meteor Shower Peaks November 16 2013

leonidsThe Leonids meteor shower will be reaching its peak this year late night on November 16, 2013 (early morning November 17, 2013). The famous meteor shower, that appears to originate out of the constellation of Leo, is expected to reach a peak rate of around 10-20 meteors an hour this year — quite a bit down from the heights that the Leonids can hit, but should still make for a pretty good show.

Something to keep in mind though — there will be a Full Moon present in the sky on the night of the peak, so the actual number of meteors than can be easily seen will probably be on the lower end of the predicted peak rate. For those who won’t be able to make it out on the night of November 16/morning of November 17, it’s worth noting that the following night should put on a nearly equally good show.

Leonid via Flickr CC

The best time to watch the meteor shower will be between about midnight and an hour or so before dawn. But you should be able to see at least a few earlier and later than that as well.

While this year’s show is expected to be anything spectacular, spectacular is what the Leonids are known for — having produced some of the greatest meteor storms of the past three hundred years. In 1966 peak rates reached as high as several thousand meteors a minute, as seen from dark, rural locations — apparently appearing almost like falling rain, by some accounts. It was reported that because of the great number of meteors all appearing to originate from the same portion of the sky that many observers felt like they had to grip the ground to avoid falling over — with the Earth apparently appearing to be plowing through space at a great speed (as it is), rather than appearing stationary as it typically does to human perception.

Where to look

As said before to see the meteor shower you have to escape from the lights of the city. To be sure that you are going to see the shooting starts you should be able to see stars first and lots of them. Just have a look at the sky if you are seeing a lot of stars specially the small and big dippers then it’s a good location to sit and enjoy the show. you don’t need any special tools the shooting stars can be seen with the naked eyes.

Knowing where to look is very important, most of us don’t know where the Leo constellation is in the sky. don’t worry it’s very easy, assuming you have with you an android device, download Google Sky. Open the application and from the menu search for Leo. Your device will lead you to where the Leo constellation is. Very Easy method to find the Leo Constellation.

Some general tips for meteor shower watching:

• Find the darkest sky that you can, preferably far from city lights — dark, rural locations are ideal.

• Get comfortable — a reclining chair, warm clothes, blankets, pillows, etc.

• A cup of warm coffee or hot chocolate tends to make the experience more enjoyable.
Source: planetsave

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