The Leonid meteor shower will peak just after midnight on Friday, November 18, 2022.
In the wake of this week’s dramatic total lunar eclipse a rare meteor outburst could be coming to the night skies across the world.
The Leonid meteor shower will peak just after midnight on Friday, November 18, 2022. The result of dust grains left in the inner solar system by comet 55P/Tempel-Tuttle, the Leonids run annually from November 6 through 30, and under normal conditions produce up to about 15 “shooting stars” per hour.
Named after their radiant point in the constellation of Leo “the lion,” Leonids are mostly fast, bright meteors with a persistent “train” behind each that can be visible for a second or more.
That makes them one of the best of the year—behind August’s Persieds and December’s Geminids—but it’s possible that 2022 could see the Leonids put on the year’s very best display. According to the American Meteor Society up to 250 “shooting stars” per hour could occur if some predictions come true. Russian astronomer Mikhail Maslov and Japanese astronomer Mikiya Sato have previously predicted that 2022 could see Earth bust through an ancient and dense stream of meteoroids from 55P/Tempel-Tuttle to possibly cause between 50 and 200 bright “shooting stars per hour. Sadly some of those outbursts—if they happen at all—may occur during daylight hours for North America.
So the best time to see the Leonids meteor shower in 2022 isn’t clear, but there are two options:
- Before midnight on Thursday, November 17, 2022 before the Last Quarter Moon rises, though the constellation of Leo will be low on the horizon at that time as seen from the northern hemisphere.
- Pre-dawn hours of Friday, November 18, 2022 when Leo will be high in the sky, though with the Last Quarter Moon making “shooting stars” harder to see.
- A more rounded approach might be to go stargazing around midnight between November 17-21 to maximize your chances of seeing something extra-special. That won’t be practical for most.
Shooting stars come from streams of particles of dust and debris—meteoroids—left in the solar system by passing comets. As Earth orbits the sun, those particles collide with its atmosphere and heat-up as they disintegrate, causing a streak of light in the sky.
The Leonids are faster and brighter than most shooting stars because the stream of meteoroids that causes them is orbiting the Sun in the opposite direction as Earth. They strike Earth’s upper atmosphere full-on at 160,000 mph/257,000 kmh, many times faster than a speeding bullet.
Comet 55P/Tempel-Tuttle is one of the shortest period comets astronomers know of and it buzzes into the solar system to loop around the Sun every 33 years. However, it’s currently 19 astronomical units (au) from Earth (around as far as Uranus) in the direction of (but far beyond) the planet Venus. According to NASA, its nucleus measures only about 2.24 miles/3.6 kilometers across.
Before the Leonids peak sky-watchers may notice some “shooting stars” from the Northern Taurids, which peak just after midnight on Friday, November 11, 2022. About five to 10 “shooting stars” are expected each hour. This meteor shower’s source is dust and debris left in the inner solar system by Comet 2P Encke.
Wishing you clear skies and wide eyes.
