The Leonid meteor shower is an annual mid-November event and will be peaking this weekend November 16 and 17. Unfortunately at the same time, there will be a full moon which will flood the sky with light and lessen the chances of seeing most of the shower, and this year is expected to have low activity, only about 10 to 20 meteors per hour, if that. For best viewing chances, the “traditional” times are midnight to dawn. This year, it’s being said that 5am ET Sunday will be the peak time to check it out.
Leonids get their name from the constellation Leo and are associated with the comet Tempel-Tuttle. When the comet passes the solar system every 33.3 years, and gets closest to the sun, it leaves a trail of debris behind. The Earth then comes in contact with that debris, which creates the meteor shower.
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