The Leonid shooting star showers are extremely hoped-for amongastronomyfans . The November meteor blitz occasionally turn into a storm that produces some of the fastest , bright , and most abundant shoot stars of the class . Here ’s what you demand to know to witness the dazzle phenomenon in 2023 .
What Is the Leonid Meteor Shower?
The Leonids are a product of thecomet55P / Tempel - Tuttle . Every year in November , our planet perish through the comet ’s tail and hunks of comet debris sunburn up in our atmosphere . The result is a night sky peppered with shooting stars . The exhibitioner ’s name get from the constellation Leo , which the meteor seem to diversify from as they blotch across the bean of the sky .
The shower has been lie with to beef up into a full - blown violent storm on occasion . A meteor storm is a shower bath that produce an exceptional number of shooting stars , usually more than 1000 per hour . The meteors that fall during a Leonid storm are also bright , colorful , andincredibly fast . storm from Comet 55P / Tempel - Tuttle are recorded every 33 years or so , with the last one occurring in2001 .
When Is the Next Leonid Meteor Shower?
The Leonid meteor shower in 2023 wo n’t reach tempest levels , but it ’s still worth checking out . action peaks on the night ofFriday , November 17 , and early in the morning of Saturday , November 18 . The cascade can grow up to 15 meteoroid per hour at its peak . The first quartermoonon November 20 wo n’t outshine the shooting stars , so viewing in 2023 should be good .
For your expert shot at catching the spectacle , find a removed area with minimal weak pollution and give your center plenty oftime to adjustto the dark . The Leonids will be more seeable in the Northern Hemisphere , and the unspoilt clock time to see them is in the time of day before first light .
A version of this story was issue in 2021 ; it has been updated for 2023 .
