Best Time To Watch The 2014 Leonid Meteor Shower?

Each year, stargazers from around the globe step outside to view one of the most impressive annual meteor showers: the Leonid meteor shower. So what is the best time for viewing the Leonid meteor shower in 2014?

The meteor shower will peak late Monday night into Tuesday morning. According to Calla Cofield of Scientific American and Space, stargazers living in the U.S. will get their best look at the meteor shower between midnight and dawn on Monday and Tuesday morning, November 17 and 18. Stargazers should, therefore, plan on staying up late Monday night to have the best chance at catching a glimpse of the meteor showers.

Exactly how impressive is this year’s shower supposed to be? According to Cofield, 2014 Leonid meteor shower should produce between 10 and 15 meteors per hour. For a meteor shower, those numbers are not bad. However, in the past, Leonid has produced some truly awe-inspiring numbers. Cofield says that the Leonids “have a lot to live up to,” as they have been known to produce meteors at a rate of 1,000 or more per hour in previous years. One web-based observatory service notes that “the Leonids are considered one of the more prolific meteor showers in our night skies every year.”

What makes the Leonid meteor shower so impressive? The meteors are bits of dust and rock from the tail of Comet Tempel-Tuttle, which does a loop around the sun every 33 years. Every November, Earth passes through the debris field left behind by Tempel-Tuttle, and the bits of debris “ram into the atmosphere at tens of thousands of miles an hour,” according to StarDate magazine. The dust and rocks burn up in the atmosphere, creating the gorgeous light show seen on Earth.

Therefore, even if this year’s predictions are somewhat low for the famous Leonid, it is definitely worth missing a few hours of shut-eye over.

Can’t stay up late on Monday night? No worries! Bill Cook, head of the Meteoroid Environment Office, also noted that there may be a second peak for the 2014 Leonids. The second peak may occur on Thursday, November 20, Scientific American said. Cook also notes that no special viewing equipment is needed to see the Leonid shower; it can be seen with the naked eye. Simply go to an area away from city lights, lay on your back and look straight up.

Don’t feel like getting out in the cold to see the show? Both NASA’s Meteorite Environment Office and the Slooh Community Observatory will broadcast the shower live online as well.