This year, the Leonid meteor shower will be visible from the night of Tuesday the 17th of November through the morning of Wednesday the 18th of November. During this time, a light show will take place in the sky for those in areas without light pollution (don’t worry if you have light pollution — there are some tips for this further down).
Meteor showers, according to the Chronicle UK, are tiny bits of dust that burn up in earth’s atmosphere. Usually, these are about the size of a grain of sand, though sometimes they can reach the size of a small stone.
These bits of dust are trails left by comets as they streak through our solar system. The earth, which is moving around the sun at incredible speeds, will sometimes whiz right through fields of such debris, which subsequently burn up in our atmosphere at a speed of 44 miles per second, according to AccuWeather.
If you are interested in seeing the shower, get yourself into an area free of light pollution, try to block out the moon if you can, and look for the constellation Leo.
These create the appearance of “shooting stars” — though they are certainly not stars, which would crush the earth in a moment if it weren’t for the fact that our planet would be incinerated first.
If you are interested in seeing the shower, get yourself into an area free of light pollution, try to block out the moon if you can, and look for the constellation Leo. Leo is the radiant (origin) of the shower, hence the name Leonid Meteor Shower, and is only one of many meteor showers.
If you cannot get to an area without light pollution, find a shadowy spot (perhaps in your backyard) where you are in shadow. You’ll probably want to sit on a garden or deck chair, or on a blanket, and look east. Our sources for this article both recommend wearing warm clothing, potentially in layers, to ward off the cold.
