It’s time for the annual show.  Every year in mid-November, the most reliable, most well-known, most-viewed meteor shower of the year peaks.  It’s called the Leonid meteor shower, AKA The King Of Meteor Showers.  For your best viewing experience, the Leonid meteor shower will peak before dawn on Thursday, November 18, at about 15-20 meteors per hour.

Of course, that’s not a lot, but it’s usually worth getting up for.  This year’s meteor shower is nowhere near last year’s light show, but meteors are meteors, and they’re always fun to wake up early and view.  I’m a long-time Leonid viewer, when the weather’s nice.  But I’m blessed to live way out in the suburbs where there aren’t street lights and I’m pretty far from the light pollution of the legitimate city.

For optimum viewing, here are some tips from the pros.  “For your best view, get away from city lights.  Look for state or city parks or other safe, dark sites,” say the editors of StarDate magazine at McDonald Observatory in Texas.  “Lie on a blanket or reclining chair to get a full-sky view.  If you can see all of the stars in the Little Dipper, you have good dark-adapted vision.”

Tags: astronomy, Leonid meteor shower, Leonids, meteor showers, space, leonid meteor shower peaks tonight, peak night for Leonid meteors, sky watching, Leonid meteor shower viewing tips, McDonald Observatory, StarDate Magazine

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