Take a long look up in the night sky over the next few weeks and you just might be in for a treat as the annual Leonid meteor shower invades the November sky over Beaufort. This year’s event started on November 3rd, peaking on November 18th, and running through December 2nd.
The Leonid meteor shower is one of the most famous of the annual meteor displays. The Leonids orbit the sun in the direction opposite to that of Earth and they slam into our atmosphere nearly head-on, resulting in the fastest meteor velocities possible: 45 miles (72 kilometers) per second. Such speeds tend to produce bright meteors, which leave long-lasting streaks or vapor trains in their wake.
According to EarthSky.com, the Leonids are caused by Comet Tempel-Tuttle which sweeps through the inner solar system every 33.3 years. Each time the comet makes its closest pass to the sun, it leaves a stream of cosmic debris in its wake. This dense trail of debris can cause a more dramatic meteor storm if the Earth scores a direct hit on a fresh dust trail ejected by the comet.
But the comet is not due to pass through the inner solar system again until the year 2031, so this year’s Leonids are expected to show mostly low activity, with at best 10 to maybe 15 meteors per hour.
If you want to try to catch a Leonid, here’s what to do.
Go outside, lie back, look up at the sky … and wait.
