Tuesday, November 23, 2010

Leonid meteor shower 2010 gets to crescendo November 17-18th

The Leonid meteor shower 2010 has actually been intensifying for a full week now and reaches its peak Wed, November 17th. Prime time for the Leonids in North America can be in the wee hours of the morning November 18. Get up about three a.m. for the best show, when up to 12 Leonids per hour can be expected. The shooting stars are specks of dust from the tail of Comet Tempel-Tuttle hitting the Earth’s atmosphere at 158,000 mph.

Leonids position and time period

Right before daybreak hits, you'll be able to view the Leonid meteor shower 2010. The dense part of Comet Tempel-Tuttle's trail of debris is being hit by Earth at this time. By about three a.m. the moon will be setting and also the skies will be at their darkest. If you glance southeast then you’ll be able to see it. It can be within the direction of the Leo constellation. The "radiant" is exactly what we call this point within the sky. Since it looks like the meteors are going out of the sky like water from a shower head, it had been given this name.

Details on shooting stars

The sun is becoming orbited within the opposite direction of the Earth by the comet debris that will cause the Leonid meteor shower 2010. A forty five miles per second speed is how fast they hit the atmosphere. Planning 1,000 meters per second is all about how fast the rifle bullet will go. The meteors are very small. They’re the size of a grain of sand usually. When the particles vaporize they leave bright streaks in the sky that can linger for a few seconds.

Could it be the conclusion of the world?

As an annual meteor shower, the Leonids are fairly amazing. Of course, there is actually going being less this yr with the frequency of a dozen per hour. There was about 1,000 an hour from 1992 to 20002 for the Leonids. in 1996, there were possibly even more vaporizing in the atmosphere. It was at about 10,000 per hour. People were scared of the meteors in 1833 before they knew exactly what they were. They came down like rain for the Leonids. The sky had been so bright with shooting stars that individuals were roused from rest, terrified the entire world had been coming to a conclusion.

Articles cited

Astronomy.com

astronomy.com/en/News-Observing/News/2010/11/Leonid%20meteor%20shower%202010.aspx

MSNBC

msnbc.msn.com/id/40033447/ns/technology_and_science-space/

Space.com

space.com/scienceastronomy/top10_leonidsfacts-6.html



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