Leonids
The Leonids are a November meteor shower from Comet Tempel–Tuttle, famous for occasional spectacular storms.
The Leonids peak around 17 to 18 November, with meteors appearing to come from the constellation Leo. In most years they are modest, giving perhaps 10 to 15 meteors per hour. But every 33 years or so, when their parent comet, 55P/Tempel–Tuttle, has recently passed by, the Leonids can become a meteor storm.
In November 1833, observers in North America saw tens of thousands of meteors per hour, a display so dramatic that it launched the scientific study of meteor showers. Great storms were also seen in 1866 and 1966, and strong displays in 1999 and 2001. Leonid particles strike Earth almost head-on at about 71 kilometres per second, among the fastest of any shower.
Astronomers now model the individual dust trails left at each passage of the comet, allowing them to predict storms. The next good chances for enhanced Leonid activity are expected in the 2030s.
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Level: Explorer Ages 10 and up