Sorry for the kind of short notice, but the Leonid meteor shower will be peaking November 17th through the 18th! By the time you read this, that is probably tonight! Anyways, a quick bit of info on the shower:
The Leonid meteor shower is one of the annual favorites of astronomers. While not as big a show as the Geminids or Perseids, the Leonid meteor shower has a habit of performing better one year than the previous. Refreshed every 33 years by the comet 55P Tempel/Tuttle, the Leonids are expected to put on a good show this year (although Tempel/Tuttle hasn't come around since '96). WHile the shower may be very impressive, it could do so for only a short time. The peak is predicted to occur around 21:30 UTC, with the best action occuring within an hour or two of this peak. Rates are expected to reach up to 300 meteors per hour! So don't miss this meteor shower!
When and Where Should I Look?
As usual, the best time to observe a meteor shower is during the early morning hours, around 2-5 AM. This is because as the Earth rotates into the sunlight, we are moving into the meteor field. This increases the number of meteors entering our atmosphere over any given location. Of course, not everone wants to stay up that late, so if you don't plan on doing so, start watching for the meteors at local dusk, and they'll really start to pick up towards 11 PM or midnight.
To find the direction you should look, simply find the constellation Leo. The easiest way to find Leo is to look for the "sickle" shaped asterism in the Eastern sky around dusk. This will be the direction that the meteors will appear to come from. Below is a picture of the constellation Leo.
View of Leo at approximately 2:15 AM local time. Note that at times much before 2 AM, you may not be able to see Leo. In this case, look for surrounding constellations.
Clear skies!
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