November’s shooting stars on the way as Leonids meteor shower set to peak

We’re about to get hit with the quickest meteor bathe of the 12 months (Credit score: Getty)

The Leonid meteor bathe will quickly peak above the UK giving keen astronomy followers a sky stuffed with taking pictures stars to look at.

The show happens each November as particles from the Tempel-Tuttle comet comes into contact with Earth.

Offering the sky stays clear, the Leonids meteor bathe can produce between 15 and 20 meteors per hour.

In accordance with the Royal Observatory Greenwich, the Leonids bathe is ‘normally one of many extra prolific annual meteor showers, with quick, brilliant meteors.’

Whereas there are many meteor showers throughout the 12 months, the Leonids can declare to be the quickest.

In accordance with specialists at Nasa, the taking pictures stars falling throughout the Leonids are coming in scorching at 44 miles per second – faster than every other bathe within the astronomical calendar.

When will the Leonids meteor bathe peak over the UK?

The Leonids meteor bathe is ready to peak late subsequent week (Credit score: Shutterstock)

The perfect time to catch a glimpse of a Leonid streaking by way of the sky over your own home is subsequent week.

The meteor bathe is scheduled to succeed in its peak on the nights of Thursday seventeenth and Friday 18th November.

There'll nonetheless be a chance to identify meteors on the nights both aspect of these dates, though there could possibly be fewer seen by way of the course of the evening.

When is the perfect time to see the Leonids meteor bathe?

You’ll must be out late at evening to get the perfect view (Credit: PA)

If you wish to catch the perfect probability of recognizing a meteor, you’ll must be exterior (or at a window) trying up between midnight and daybreak.

Minimising the quantity of sunshine air pollution – from issues like passing automobiles or avenue lights – will assist as properly.

Typically talking, your eyes will want about 20 minutes to acclimitise to the darkness. So it’s good to get out somewhat bit earlier to let your imaginative and prescient alter.

You could have to cope with a little bit of moonlight spoiling the view because the moon can be in its waning crescent part – with about 45 per cent of it illuminated.

Why is it referred to as the Leonids meteor bathe?

The Leonids title comes from the constellation Leo (Credit score: Shutterstock)

The title Leonids comes from the purpose within the sky the place the meteor bathe seems to return from – proper subsequent to the constellation of Leo.

To search out Leo, first pick the brilliant star Regulus (there are many evening sky apps that may assist with this) after which hint the sickle – which appears to be like like a backward query mark – representing the lion’s mane. 

Tempel-Tuttle is a small comet – its nucleus measures solely about 2.24 miles (3.6 km) throughout. Which is comparable in dimension to the island of Manhattan.

The Royal Observatory Greenwich explains: ‘Because the comet follows its path across the solar, it leaves a path of tiny particles. The cometary particles enters our planet’s environment at speeds of as much as 70 kilometres per second, vaporising and inflicting the streaks of sunshine we name meteors.’

‘The Leonids meteor bathe was given its title as a result of its radiant – the purpose within the sky the place the meteors appear to return from – is inside the Leo constellation.’