13-11-2021 | 16:59 PM
Leonids Meteor Shower
Every year in November, an annual meteor shower called the Leonids radiates out from the direction of the constellation of Leo in the sky.
The shower is under way now as it lasts from 6 to 30 November. The peak activity this year is expected in the early morning of 17 November.
About Leonids Meteor Shower
Leonids Meteor Shower occurs when Earth passes through a trail left behind by the Tempel-Tuttle comet on its 33-year orbit around the Sun.
The Leonids are also called fireballs and earthgazer meteors. Fireballs, because of their bright colours, and earthgazer, because they streak close to the horizon.
Meteor Shower
Meteor showers occur annually or at regular intervals as the Earth passes through the trail of dusty debris left by a comet.
Meteor showers are usually named after a star or constellation that is close to where the meteors appear in the sky.
Meteor Storm
A meteor storm should have at least 1,000 meteors per hour.
In 1966, a Leonid storm offered views of thousands of meteors that fell through the Earth’s atmosphere per minute during a period of 15 minutes.
Meteors, Meteoroid, and Meteorite
Meteoroids are objects in space that range in size from dust grains to small asteroids.
When meteoroids enter Earth’s atmosphere at high speed and burn up, the fireballs or “shooting stars” are called meteors.
When a meteoroid survives a trip through the atmosphere and hits the ground, it’s called a meteorite.
