Leonid Meteor Shower May Surprise Us with a Stunning Display This Week

One of my most memorable experiences was back in the 90s when I was in the US Air Force. In November 1998, I found myself deployed to Kuwait, where I witnessed a spectacular meteor storm as the Leonids reached their peak on the morning of November 17th. The meteors came quickly and intensely, lighting up the desert sky like flashes of light from above, just before sunrise.

There are several compelling reasons to keep an eye on the Leonid meteors this year.People often refer to the Leonid meteors, which occur roughly once every 33 years, as the “lion’s roar” because they appear to emanate from the Sickle asterism in the constellation Leo.

The most recent significant Leonid outburst was around 1999, but there is growing interest in the possibility of encountering older Leonid streams in 2024.

What to Expect from the Leonids in 2024

Although the Leonid shower is expected to be quieter in 2024, a few interesting streams remain for observers to watch. The regular annual shower will likely peak on Sunday, November 17th, around 4:00 UTC, with a Zenithal Hourly Rate (ZHR) of 15-20 meteors per hour under ideal conditions. This will be most visible in Europe during the early morning hours.

However, there are also some older meteor streams that might surprise us earlier in the week. According to Jérémie Vaubaillon from the Paris Observatory IMCCE, Earth could pass through three older streams from the periodic comet 55P/Tempel-Tuttle, the source of the Leonids.

The comet follows a 33.8-year orbit, and each time Earth passes through the dust and debris left by the comet, a meteor shower occurs.

• On November 14th at 16:37 UTC, Earth will encounter the first stream from 1633, favoring northwestern North America in the early morning.

• The second, from 1733, will peak around November 19th and 20th between 23:53 and 00:54 UTC, favoring northern and central Asia.

• Finally, there will be an encounter with older streams (more than 1,000 years old) on November 14th at the same time as the 1633 stream. This stream was suspected to be the source of the 1866 Leonid meteor storm.

Is a Meteor Storm Possible?

Meteor storms occur when the ZHR exceeds 500 meteors per hour, and if the ZHR reaches 1,000 or more, you’ll see a meteor every few seconds. The Leonids are known for their dramatic outbursts, such as the historic 1966 shower that reached a ZHR of 150,000 meteors per hour in the US southwest, but meteor storms are relatively rare.

In recent years, the Leonids have consistently reached predicted rates of around 20 meteors per hour, but with potential encounters with older streams, 2024 may offer an unexpected surprise.

How to Observe and Photograph the Leonids

The best time to view meteors is during the early morning hours, as you’ll be on the side of Earth facing the meteor stream. Observers will see meteors near the radiant, but they can spot longer streaks further from it, up to 90 degrees away on either side.

To capture the display, I recommend mounting a DSLR camera on a tripod, setting the lens to the widest possible field of view, and using automatic exposure settings. An intervalometer is a great tool to automate the process, allowing you to sit back with a warm cup of tea and enjoy the spectacle.

While we may have to wait until the 2030s for a major Leonid event, there’s no harm in watching this week—you never know when a surprise meteor show might appear. As hockey legend Wayne Gretzky once said, “You miss 100% of the shots you don’t take,” and the same applies to meteor showers: just show up and watch!

Read the original article on: Science Alert

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