Leonids Meteor Shower To Light Up Sky, Will Be Visible From Tuesday Midnight To Wednesday Dawn

Gorakhpur: A beautiful show in the sky is on the way as the annual Leonids Meteor Shower is set to brighten the night once again.

From midnight of November 17, bright meteors will be visible from near the rising Leo constellation in the eastern sky. The spectacular sight can be seen until the morning of November 18.

Amar Pal Singh, an astronomer at Veer Bahadur Singh Planetarium, Gorakhpur, explained that the Leonids meteor shower, one of the major astronomical events of November, will reach its peak on the night of November 17. The thrilling meteor shower is particularly fast. This year, the astronomical event is active from November 6 to 30. "Its most spectacular and peak view will occur between midnight of November 17 and dawn of November 18. Conditions are quite favorable for viewing the meteors. During this time, the Moon will only appear approximately 9 per cent illuminated," he said.

Singh said due to the moon's dim light, the meteors will be visible to the naked eye. He said the meteor shower that occurs in November is called the Leonids because it appears to come from the Leo constellation. "Their specialty is that the meteors enter the Earth's atmosphere at a speed of approximately 71 km per second and burn up due to high atmospheric friction. This results in the bright streaks that appear," he said.

Commonly known as 'shooting stars', they are called meteor showers in astronomy. "The Leonids meteor shower is associated with Comet 55P/Tempel-Tuttle, which completes its orbit around the Sun in 33 years. When a comet passes through Earth's orbit around the Sun, it leaves behind tiny dust particles. As Earth passes through this annual path, these dust particles collide with the atmosphere at high speeds due to friction, creating bright streaks of light," Singh explained.

He said, the phenomenon resembles celestial fireworks. Singh said in order to view the spectacle, one must select a clean, open, and safe location, away from light pollution. "After midnight, look towards the Leo constellation in the eastern sky. This meteor shower will be visible across the sky from any direction. This astronomical event can be seen with the naked eye. No special equipment (binoculars/telescopes) is required," Singh clarified.

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