Prime viewing ahead for Leonid meteor shower
— -- Sky watchers will have two good times Thursday and Friday night to view this year's Leonid meteor shower in the USA.
Though the meteors can be viewed all night long, on both days, just around midnight and at around 3 a.m. local time, those who stay up should be rewarded with the best view of the rain of falling stars if it's not cloudy. Though the annual shower will be less spectacular than in some years, "the Leonids are pretty famous for having a good number of bright ones," says Ben Burress, staff astronomer at the Chabot Space & Science Center in Oakland.
For those who don't want to get up in the middle of the night, just before moonrise is a good time to watch, Burress says. Thursday, that will be around 11:30 p.m. On Friday night/Saturday morning, moonrise will be at 12:30 a.m. Saturday morning.
Though the shower itself lasts for several weeks, the peak comes at around 3 a.m. both Friday and Saturday morning, when the maximum number of meteors should be falling. Because the moon will be in quarter phase, its light will wash some of the shower out.
"A meteor shower is like bugs on a windshield," Burress says. At 3 a.m. Friday and Saturday, the Earth will be flying directly into the cloud of dust and debris left by the Tempel-Tuttel comet. "If you're in your car, you see a lot more streaks of bug splatter on the windshield than on your rear window."
To get the best view, find a dark place outside, giving your eyes at least 10 minutes to adjust to the darkness. "Though the meteors will appear to originate from the constellation Leo, the lion, they can be seen in all parts of the sky. For the best chance of seeing them, face away from the moon (and Leo), toward the darkest part of your sky," says Rebecca Johnson, editor of StarDate magazine.
The meteors that light up the night sky are actually tiny pea- and sand-sized bits of dust crumbling off the Tempel-Tuttle comet as it swings by the Earth. The shower gets its name from the constellation Leo, from which the meteors appear to radiate.
Each year, the Leonids wax and wane in a cycle of about 33 years. Both 1999 and 2000 were "spectacular," Burress says. His grandfather saw the shower in 1933, "and he said they were just flying out of the sky every second."
This year represents a lower level of activity but should produce some nice viewing, he says.
The best way to watch a meteor shower is to "lie flat on your back, look straight up and take in as much of the sky as you can," suggests Bill Cooke, a NASA astronomer whose office assesses the risk meteoroids pose to spacecraft and predicts meteor activity.
As this will be a less bright year for the Leonids, if you really want to see the most meteors, you can try to find a place well away from city lights that is truly dark. And give it time. Though the eye adapts to the dark within 10 minutes, a full switch to night vision can take up to 45 minutes, so the falling stars will become brighter and more visible as the night wears on.
One tip from astronomers is to be careful not to place yourself where you see oncoming car headlights, which can reset the eyes for light, meaning it will take another 45 minutes to get full night vision back.
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