Two meteor showers are most dominant during the month of November. The ongoing Taurids kick off the month and peak sometime during the 5th through the 12th of November. These showers actually start back in September and are caused by two debris streams in our solar system. The earth passes through the the densest portion of the stream by the 12 of the month and may feature between 5 and 10 meteors per hour.
The more famous Leonid showers peak on the night of the 17th and morning of the 18th. The Leonids have long been known to kick off some of the greatest meteor storms in history featuring thousands of meteors per hour. In recent years, activity has been down. There is the chance that 2009 may be a more active year. One thing is for certain is that this year we will be guaranteed dark skies. This is because the shower peak will occur near a new moon. There will be dark sky viewing, so it will be well worth it for you to bundle up, and get out there for the show!
2 comments:
Did anyone see a meteor heading towards Santa Cruz on Nov 7 around 5:15pm?
The last two showers I went out of my way to see were big disappointments, maybe I'll get in my car and drive away from city lights for tonight's show but it's pretty cold out there tonight so I'm not totally sure yet.
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