Night owls and early risers should keep an eye on the skies as the Leonid meteor shower kicks off as the Earth passes through the debris from Comet Temple-Tuttle. Up to 15 meteors will be visible every hour at its peak tonight (Sunday) and tomorrow (Monday) night.
Available to comment:
Michael Brown, Associate Professor, Monash School of Physics and Astronomy
Contact details: +61 420 989 973 or michael.brown@monash.edu
The following can be attributed to Associate Professor Brown:
“Meteor showers are produced when the Earth passes through the orbits of comets, with the cometary dust and pebbles slamming into the Earth’s upper atmosphere at tens of kilometres per second.
“The Leonid meteors originate from Comet Temple-Tuttle and they enter the Earth’s atmosphere at 70 kilometres per second, so they can produce particularly bright and fast meteors.
“The Leonids are visible in the early morning hours and as the name suggests, they will appear to fly away from the constellation Leo. There are free phone apps for navigating the night sky, so use one of these to find Leo and other celestial objects. Meteor spotting is best done away from city lights, although this year the Moon will produce some natural light pollution that will somewhat hinder meteor spotting.
“Although the Leonids are famous for producing meteor storms with hundreds of meteors per hour, we will have to be patient as the next Leonid meteor storm isn’t expected until 2035.”
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