Leonid Meteor Shower 2006 -- When, Where, and Why

[Buttercup]

Leonid Meteor Shower 2006 -- When, Where, and Why

by Melanie Melton Knocke
November 13, 2006


The nights and early morning hours of November 17-19 mark the return of the Leonid meteor shower to the skies of Earth. Will it be worth your while to get outside and take a look? Well, that depends on which expert you listen to and where you live.

For the most part, this year's Leonid's display should be a pretty typical meteor shower. Just days away from New Moon, the sky will be free of moonlight so viewers should be able to see as many as 20 faint, fast-moving meteors per hour during its peak (the evening of November 17, early morning of November 18).

However, unlike a typical meteor shower, astronomers are predicting an unusual "outburst" of meteor activity late November 18 - early November 19 (the date it occurs depends on where you live).

Viewers along the northeastern coast of the United States and Canada, as well as people in Europe and western Africa might get to see a possible "outburst" of as many as 100-600 meteors per hour. This spike in activity is predicted for 11:45 p.m. - 1:33 a.m. EST on November 18-19 (4:45 - 6:33 UT on November 19).

[Willowdared]

When I got home from work last night, I noticed an especially starry sky. I'll try to pay more attention tonight and look for shooting stars.

[CopsRCool302]

I saw a shooting start, it was a dark blue, and faded fast but it was so cool..

[Buttercup]

The Leonid shower a few years ago was beautiful and spectacular, it literally looked like fireworks in the sky. It was worth getting up at 3 am and going to a park.

[Autumn2009]

Was cloudy here last night, probably why I didn't notice anything different.