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The Leonid meteoroid shower is now peak , and could bring up to 15 " shooting stars " per 60 minutes to the night sky .
This yearly meteor shower now and then causes " shooting star storms " — rarified events that produce more than 1,000 meteors per hour . The Leonids are thought to be cause by dust and debris leave in the innersolar systembyComet55P / Tempel - Tuttle , which orbits the Lord’s Day every 33 Earth years .
This yr , the predicted peak was just after midnight EST on Nov. 17 - 18 ( 05:00 UTC on Nov. 18 ) , according to theAmerican Meteor Society . About 15 meteor per 60 minutes are typically seen in a blue sky during the apex of the Leonids . However , the shower remains combat-ready until Dec. 2 , and " snap lead " may remain more rife than usual throughout the upcoming calendar week .
undimmed moonlight may determine how much you’re able to see , as a 94%-illuminated waning gibbous moon has just risen into the Nox sky . Strong Moon can make it more challenging to see fainter shooting stars , which mean it wo n’t aid much to trip away from clear pollution for the Leonids this year — even with stilted lights out of the picture , the moonlight ’s glow will still outshine most of the show .
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Although this year ’s prime is not have a bun in the oven to rescue a meteoroid violent storm , there ’s still a slight chance it could . These sudden tumultuous disturbance of more than 1,000 meteoroid fall out in 1833 , 1866 , 1966 , 1999 , 2001 and 2002 , when Earth pass by through old dust field left in the inner solar system by 55P / Tempel - Tuttle while the comet was near perihelion , its closest point tothe sun , according to the American Meteor Society . 55P / Tempel - Tuttle ’s next perihelion will be in 2031 , according toNASA . But even before then , Earth could move through old rubble fields that could spark off a stronger display — though it ’s unsufferable to predict if or when that will happen .
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Meteor showers are typically discover after the configuration from which they appear to start . For the Leonids , that ’s Leo . If you see a snap ace and trace its flight rearwards to Leo , it is a Leonid . However , all meteor shower ' dash stars can come along anywhere in the night sky .
Shooting " stars " are actuallymeteoroids — modest , bumpy particles that strike Earth ’s air . These tumbling particles heat up and fly , release get-up-and-go seeable as streak of twinkle in the night sky . you may see them good with the naked heart in dark skies ; relieve yourstargazing binocularsfor thenext full moonor planetary appearing .
