Leonids Meteor Shower

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About Leonids Meteor Shower

• • The debris that forms this meteor shower originates from a small comet called 55P/Tempel-Tuttle in the constellation Leo, which takes 33 years to orbit the sun. 
  • It was originally discovered in 1833.
  • The meteor shower has been named the Leonids Meteor Shower as it seems to emanate from the sector of the sky where the head of the Leo constellation lies. 
  • The Leonids are considered to be a major shower that features the fastest meteors, which typically travel at speeds of 71 km per second, although the rates are often as low as 15 meteors per hour.
  • They are also called fireballs and earthgrazer meteors, fireballs, because of their bright colours, and earthgazer, because they streak close to the horizon. 
  • The light which is why a meteor is called a shooting star — is a result of the friction between the meteorite and the molecules present in the Earth’s atmosphere because of which it burns.
  • A meteor storm should have at least 1,000 meteors per hour. 
  • The last such storm took place in2002.

• The showers are visible on any cloudless night when the Moon is not very bright. 

• Ideally, the viewing location should have no light pollution and the farther away from cities the better. 
• The peak time of a meteor shower comes when the Earth passes through the densest part of the debris.

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