Leonid meteor shower 2020: What it is; Here’s when and how to see

The Leonid meteor shower will illuminate the night sky this month and put on a socially far off scene for everybody to appreciate.

This year, one meteor is required to streak over the night sky at regular intervals or so during the pinnacle of the Leonids. That is as per Bill Cooke, the lead for the meteoroid climate office at NASA, who mentioned to TODAY what to search for.

When to watch the Leonid meteor shower

The Leonids happen each year in mid-November. This year, the best an ideal opportunity to watch the meteor shower at its pinnacle is around 3 or 4 a.m. neighborhood time on November 17.

“They’re an early morning riser shower, which makes it inconvenient for some people,” Cooke said. If you want to watch, be sure to set an alarm!

What are the Leonids?

Those articles streaking through the sky happen when bits of Comet Tempel-Tuttle disintegrate in the Earth’s atmosphere.

“You might see as many as 10 to 15 meteors per hour,” Bruce McClure of EarthSky told TODAY. “If you trace the Leonid meteors backwards, they all seem to radiate from the constellation Leo the Lion.”

McClure said the shower will be obvious around the globe, yet it “favors the Northern Hemisphere.”

What’s the most ideal approach to see the Leonids?

The Leonids are fainter than some other yearly meteor showers.

“To see meteor showers, go out, find a dark place and lay flat on your back and look straight up,” Cooke said. “Use your eyes. There’s no need for a telescope or binoculars.”

He additionally suggests not taking a gander at a cell phone while outside, since this can influence how an individual sees objects around evening time. Since the Leonids are on the dimmer side, sky gazers should remain ready as they watch the early morning infinite function.

While the Leonids are tamer than some other meteor showers, think of them as the initial represent the Geminids. The substantially more energetic meteor shower is set to top one month from now the evening of December 13.