How to View the Leonid Meteor Showers

The last Leonid meteor shower peak came in 1998, but observers report that appreciable activity may continue through 2002. The International Meteor Organization says, "All observing methods should be utilized, especially photography and video if a storm manifests."

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Warm Clothes
• Sky Charts
• Alarm Clocks
• Patio Chairs
• Camera Accessories
• Cameras
• Digital Cameras
• Film
• Telescope Camera Adapters
• Telescopes
• Binoculars
• Binoculars
• Compasses
• Sleeping Bags
• Flashlights With Red-tinted Lens
• Cameras

1. Dress warmly. You'll be outdoors in the cool night air of November.

2. Set your alarm and be ready at 0800 Universal Time on November 17th for the predicted peak.

3. Get as far away from artificial light as possible.

4. Use a patio chaise lounge to recline comfortably as you look into the night sky.

5. Find the constellation Leo. The Leonid shower will appear to originate from that point.

6. Look for the constellation Leo to the northeast and then about halfway up from the horizon toward the vertical if you're in the northern hemisphere.

7. Watch to the southeast as Leonid meteors streak away from the radiant point.

8. Use a telescope or binoculars to locate the constellation, but forget them when watching for meteors. They have a narrow field of view.

Tips & Warnings

• Meteors flame through the Earth's atmosphere when our planet passes through the tail of a comet. Miniscule particles, some like grains of sand, plunge into our atmosphere at fantastic speeds and vaporize, creating streaks of light as they burn.
• A minor shower called delta-Leonids occurs in February.
• A flashlight with a red-tinted lens cover allows you to see your way in the dark without diminishing your night vision.
• Light from a waning moon is expected to interfere with visibility.
• The Leonid shower occurs when the Earth passes through the wake of the Tempel-Tuttle comet, with a meteor "storm" only occurring approximately every 33 years as the comet rounds the sun and sheds more debris.

on 11/22/2005 Leo doesn't rise till after midnight in November. Therefore you will not see any meteors until early morning: 2-3 o'clock.