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The morning of December 14th (night of the 13th) will begin the peak night to watch the Leonids meteor shower, which officially started on the 6th and lasts until the 30th of November. The moon’s phase will be just a sliver and will rise at 3:33am– right as the meteor shower begins to peak– giving this meteor shower prime visibility.
Maximum meteors: around 120 meteors per hour.
Velocity: 22 miles/sec (this is slow for meteorites, meaning a great chance of seeing “streamers”!
When: As usual: The best time to see ANY meteor shower is the hour or two before dawn. Try between midnight-2am for some great results without losing *too* much sleep! You may also be able to catch some of these beforehand as spectacular “Earth Grazers”, beginning at about midnight.
You can always keep an eye on the status of the clear skies by visiting this page over at ClearDarkSky: http://www.cleardarksky.com/c/LgnBchCAkey.html?1
Where: If you can, get as high up as possible to sit above the light and air pollution to get the best sights. I personally prefer Top Of The World in Laguna Beach.
Editor’s note: If you snap a great picture of the meteor shower– please send it in!
