Leonids promise celestial spectacle tonight
Eyes will turn skyward through the night tonight (November 17-18) as the annual Leonid meteor shower is expected to put on a dazzling display.
National Astronomical Research Institute of Thailand executive director Saran Poshyachinda said “the King of Meteor Showers” would be underway from midnight to dawn, peaking around 2am.
To best enjoy the Leonids – which get their name from the constellation Leo, where its meteors appear to originate – Saran recommended finding a dark, comfortable place to lie down and watching the sky to the northeast.
He believes up to 15 shooting stars an hour will be visible if the sky is reasonably clear.
The Leonid meteor shower occurs annually when Earth passes through the debris trail of Comet 55P/Tempel-Tuttle.
Dust and rock in the comet’s tail, travelling at 71 kilometres per second, heat up and ignite with the friction created upon striking the Earth’s atmosphere, descending as balls of fire.
Next up on the celestial stage is the Geminid meteor shower, which is expected to peak from midnight December 14 into the morning of December 15.