The meteors will be traveling at 44 miles per second and most visible when the moon is low
Skywatchers around North America will have a chance to see the Leonid meteor shower peak on Nov. 17.
Since the Moon will be at a warning crescent, which means its only 9% full, observers will have a perfect view of the show.
BAZHOU, CHINA – NOVEMBER 17. 2021 – Starry sky over Hora Mountain in Bayingoleng Mongolian Autonomous Prefecture, Northwest China’s Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, on the early morning of November 17, 2021. On winter nights, the Leonid meteor shower is coming.
(Xue Bing / Costfoto/Future Publishing / Getty Images)
Regarded as a major meteor shower, this celestial event is when skygazers may see around hundreds to thousands of meteors per hour depending on the location of the observer.
Under ideal conditions, the Leonids will peak between midnight and sunrise.
During non-peak times, viewers may still be able to see 10 to 20 meteors per hour radiating across the sky.
A photo from November 18, 1999 shows a Leonid meteor storm over the Azrak desert, 90km east of Amman. The storm packed up to some 1,500 meteors per hour visible with the eye. (Photo by JAMAL NASRALLAH / AFP via Getty Images)
(JAMAL NASRALLAH / AFP / Getty Images)
Last occurring in 2002, Leonid’s are known to be bright and colorful meteors. They travel at a speed of 44 miles per second and are considered to be one of the fastest meteors per NASA.
In 1966, thousands of meteors fell through Earth’s atmosphere during a 15-minute period. There were so many meteors that skywatchers said it appeared to fall like rain.
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These outbursts of meteor activity are best seen when comet 55p/Tempel-Tuttle is the closest to the Sun, which occurs every 33 years.
As the comet orbits around the sun, pieces of dense space debris from earlier returns that originate from Temple-Tuttle and interact with the atmosphere create the Leonids.
A meteor shoots across the night sky.
(Dogukan Keskinkilic / Anadolu Agency / Getty Images)
According to the American Meteor Society, the earth will not encounter any dense clouds of debris until 2099, meaning that there may not be a Leonid meteor storm when the comet returns in 2031 or 2064.
If you plan on watching the spectacular storm, NASA said it would be best to find an area that is far away from a city or streetlights. Orient yourself to the east, lie flat on your back and look up, taking in as much of the sky as possible. In less than 30 minutes in the dark, your eyes will adapt, and you will begin to see the meteors.