Determined stargazers have an opportunity to see some celestial sights this weekend: the Leonids, an annual meteor shower, is peaking overnight Sunday and into Monday morning.
So named because the meteor shower seems to fan out from the constellation of Leo, the display happens from Nov. 6-30, with the highest concentrations of meteors taking place this weekend.
It occurs when the Earth crosses paths with the orbit of a comet (named Comet 55P/Tempel-Tuttle), which results in a rain debris onto the planet.
Working against stargazers this year is the fact the moon will be bright this weekend, and some clouds are in the forecast. Your best bet is to get as far away from city lights as you can, according to a story on earthsky.org. And find ways to minimize the interference from moonlight.
“Try observing in a shadow of a large structure (like a barn), or in a mountain shadow,” the story says. “Just try to keep the moon out of view. Let your eyes adjust to the darkness for a period, say, 15 minutes to half an hour. Just wait and watch, don’t expect too much, and see what you see.”
The shower's peak between midnight and dawn, when about 10-15 meteors per hour are expected.
While no Leonids meteor storms – in which up to 1,000 pass in an hour – are expected for a long time, the ones that do cross the sky should be relatively easy to see, says a story from space.com.
“Because the Leonids orbit the sun in the direction opposite to that of Earth, they slam into our atmosphere nearly head-on, resulting in the fastest meteor velocities possible: 45 miles (72 kilometres) per second,” the story says. “Such speeds tend to produce bright meteors, which leave long-lasting streaks or vapour trains in their wake.”
And if you really want to maximize your chances of seeing a show, there are two dark sky preserves relatively close to Greater Sudbury: Manitoulin Island and Torrance Barrens Dark Sky Reserve in Gravenhurst.
Check out the global map for dark sky preserves here.
