2 weeks Ago
The Leonid meteor shower will peak this week and could bring up to 15 "shooting stars" per hour to the night sky. This annual meteor shower occasionally causes "meteor storms" — rare events that produce more than 1,000 meteors per hour. The Leonids are thought to be caused by dust and debris left in the inner solar system by Comet 55P/Tempel-Tuttle, which orbits the sun every 33 Earth years.
This year, the predicted peak is just after midnight EST on Nov. 17-18 (05:00 UTC on Nov. 18), according to the American Meteor Society .
About 15 meteors per hour are typically seen in a dark sky during the peak of the Leonids. However, a 94%-illuminated waning gibbous moon will have risen into the night sky by that time. Strong moonlight can make it more challenging.
.. Jamie Carter.
