ORLANDO, Fla. – Get ready for one of the year’s most magical sky shows Monday night!
The Leonid meteor shower is set to peak on the night of Nov. 17, and conditions are shaping up really well for anyone wanted gaze for shooting stars.
The Leonids happen every November, and they’re named after the constellation Leo, because that’s roughly where the meteors appear to come from. These shooting stars are bits of dust left behind by Comet 55P/Tempel-Tuttle, and as Earth zooms through that debris field, the bits burn up in our atmosphere which create streaks of light.
This year, things are looking especially good for meteor watchers as the moon will be a very thin waning crescent, with only about 9% illuminated around the peak.
With such low moonlight, skies will be darker, giving you a better chance to catch those bright, fast Leonid meteors.
The best time to watch is right after midnight through early pre-dawn hours on Tuesday. The peak rate for this meteor shower estimates about 10-15 meteor showers or hour during its peak.