The Leonid Meteor Shower Peaks on Monday Night, Here's What to Expect

We witnessed a tremendous astronomical spectacle within the early morning skies over the Kuwaiti desert in November 1998. That year, the Leonid meteors placed on a spectacular display, topping an estimated 1,000 meteors per hour near sunrise.

In most years, however, the Lion whimpers with some paltry meteors per hour, but once every 33 years more or less, the mighty Leonids can roar with a tremendous display reaching storm level proportions.

Prospects for the 2020 Leonids

Unfortunately, 2020 isn't projected to be such a year, but it is often worth keeping a watch out during the first morning hours in mid-November. The 2020 peak for the Leonids is anticipated to arrive on Tuesday, November 17th, at around ~4:00 GMT (UT) or 11:00 PM EST (on the 16th).

The Moon could be a waxing crescent just two days after new at this time, ideal for meteor watching. This also favors the longitude of Europe and Africa at dawn, another plus. The 2020 Zenithal Hourly Rate (ZHR) is predicted to hit a moderate 15-20 meteors per hour.

The source of the Leonid meteors is periodic comet 55P/Tempel-Tuttle, which is on a 33-year orbit around the Sun. the subsequent major peak for the Leonids is anticipated for the first 2030s around 2032-33, though circumstances this point around may convince be but favorable.

The orbit of Comet 55P/Tempel-Tuttle. (NASA/JPL)

It's worth noting that within the late 1990s we were seeing enhanced rates over several years leading up to 1998, so what we see from the Leonids within the coming decade could also be indicative of what we would be sure, come 2032.

The Leonids are one of the foremost notorious meteor storm producers. On the morning of 13 November 1833, residents of the US Eastern Seaboard awoke to a very terrifying sight, because the sky looked as if it would be awash with meteors, falling like rain.

1889 depiction of the 1833 Leonids, based on a first-hand account. (Adolf Vollmy/Public Domain)

Keep in mind, nobody truly knew what meteors actually were until the late 19th century, or how they were associated with the dust trails laid down by comets. In fact, the 1833 Leonids are cited as contributing to several of the religious fundamentalist revivals of the 1830s within the US… they were that influential.

Will the Leonids 'ramp up' within the coming decade? confine mind, the quoted zenithal hourly rate (ZHR) for a given shower is that the number you'd see with optimal conditions, under a dark, moonless sky with the radiant directly overhead… most folks will see considerably less.

Many neophyte observers get excited about the hype leading up to a meteor stream, only to be frustrated by the truth of seeing few if any meteors under light-polluted skies.

Be patient, and draw a decent dark sky site for best results. Tracing a meteor trail back to the 'Sickle of Leo' asterism identifies its membership as a Leonid… otherwise, the meteor is also a background sporadic, or a member of another shower.

Its meteor trails appears to originate from the Leo constellation. (Stellarium)

In November, the Taurids are active, and therefore the December Geminids are spooling up. For best results, watch within the early morning hours, when the world is meeting the Leonid atmospheric phenomenon head-on.

In recent years, the Leonids have produced an observed peak of 29 (2019), 24 (2018), and 20 (2017) meteors per hour.

Observing a meteor stream is as simple as bundling up, laying back, watching, and waiting. We value more highly to look about 45 degrees off to 1 side of the radiant for a shower to work out meteors in profile, though honestly, they'll appear anywhere within the sky.

If you're observing with an exponent, make sure to look at in opposite directions, to double your sky coverage. Also, make sure to stay a group of binoculars handy, as a superb fireball can often leave a lingering smoke train which will remain visible for over a second roughly.

You can also 'hear' meteors, or more accurately, the ionized reflection crackling in their wake along vacant swaths of the FM radio dial. You hear an analogous phenomenon along with the FM band during an intense lightning storm. Very occasionally, the radio reflections off of a meteor passage might even briefly bring a foreign station into focus.

But are you able to actually hear meteors? this can be a real and protracted phenomenon reported over the years by observers… as a child, I remember hearing a definite 'hiss' accompanying an excellent Perseid.

Now, meteors are just dust grains burning up high within the atmosphere, aloof from the bottom and unable to hold sound to the viewer… plus, unlike the clap of thunder you hear several seconds after you see a flash of lightning, the effect seems to be instantaneous.

The culprit appears to be what's called electrophonic sound, a neighborhood current induction founded off of nearby telephone wires, aluminum siding, and even damp dewy grass surrounding the observer during the passage of a meteor.

Imaging meteors is additionally a simple affair: a tripod-mounted DSLR camera with a wide-lens covering a decent swath of sky will do the trick. Use the manual 'bulb' setting to require a series of 1-3 minute exposures, and see what turns up.

Be sure to require a series of test exposures first, to urge the balance of shutter speed/f-ratio/and ISO exposure good versus the local sky conditions. take care to carefully examine the shots afterward… nearly every meteor we've caught on camera was missed during oculus observing.

 I like to use a distant intervalometer to automate the method by setting the camera to record a series of 3-minute exposures, freeing me up to easily sit back and watch the show. Also, keep an additional set of camera batteries handy, preferably during a warm pocket; long exposures and cold November temperatures can drain camera batteries in a very hurry.

Finally, remember to stay a count of what number of meteors you see, and report your observations to the International Meteor Organization. Amateur visual and radio observations of meteor showers all contribute to our efforts to grasp how particular meteor showers evolve, and should even uncover new meteor streams.

Sure, the sky won't come ablaze with a Leonid meteor storm in 2020, but it is often worth waiting for the stray streaks from the Sickle this coming week and marveling at what is.