The Leonid meteor shower achieves its peak tonight, as it reaches 10 meteors in the sky every hour, but what does this astronomical phenomenon mean and how does this number of meteors fall?
According to the British newspaper “Daily Mail”, the Leonid meteor shower originates from the wreckage of a comet called Temple Tuttle, which orbits the sun every 33 years and leaves a trail of space debris as it passes through space. such as dust and gas.
When these fragments fall into Earth’s atmosphere, they fall to Earth at speeds of up to 156.586 miles per hour (70 kilometers per second). At such speeds, debris burns up and creates dazzling streaks of light that we call a shooting star. .
Leonid was named by this name because the “cooler”, which is the point from which meteorites originate, is located at the top of the constellation Leo.
The shower can be seen every year and is responsible for producing one of the largest meteor showers in recorded history. Perhaps the best way to view a meteor shower is to find a place away from street lights and other sources of light pollution.
Meteors will be visible all over the sky, so it’s best to find an open area. However, astronomers caution that viewers should look toward the eastern half of the sky, as the meteor shower will look in all directions.
It can be seen with the naked eye, so there is no need to use binoculars or binoculars, but you will need to allow your eyes to adjust to the dark.