There will be shooting stars again in November 2020.
Tonight the Leonids will peak.
So you can follow the swarm of meteorites.
In November there will be shooting stars again.
The Leonids have their climax on the night of November 17th to 18th.
This is how you can see the Leonids tonight.
Munich - A blink of an eye, then it's over again.
Shooting stars
are fleeting happiness - that's what makes them so special that we hope that our most secret wishes will be fulfilled when we see one again.
People have always been fascinated by the luminous celestial bodies.
Especially on mild summer nights we enjoy the view into the dark infinity of the night.
And now it's time to sniff again:
The Leonids
, a swarm of
meteorites
that have been returning
for centuries
, are on the move again.
The Leonids in November: when is the climax?
The highlight of the Leonids
: the nights around
November 17th
.
Every year the cosmic aftermath of a comet hits our atmosphere and burns up.
The Tempel-Tuttle comet was named after the two discoverers Ernst Wilhelm Leberecht Tempel and Horace Parnell Tuttle, who tracked it down independently of each other in 1865 and 1866.
He needs 33 years for his orbit around the sun, which we regularly cross.
And that is an extremely fast action: The mini-particles enter the protective layer of our planet at around 70 kilometers per second (252,000 km / h).
There, harmless to us, the dust particles then burn up at a height of around 100 kilometers.
For comparison: the ISS, to which a SpaceX routine flight recently set off, flies at an altitude of around 400 kilometers.
Where can you best see the Leonids?
The name
Leoniden
comes from the name
"Leo" (Latin lion)
, because the constellation that represents the starting point for the
Leonid showers
is the lion.
Most of the
falling stars
seem to be coming from that direction from our perspective.
The
maximum of the falling star shower is estimated to be November 17, 2020 around 12 noon CET
- but then it will of course be light. The best observation time is therefore overnight
after midnight
overnight
.
The chance that the weather will cooperate and that we have a largely clear sky is not bad at all, and the sky is currently dark - there was a new moon on Sunday!
Where in the sky do I have to look so that I notice the raging flares?
After midnight, the constellation of Leo rises in the east and slowly rises in the night sky.
So: look to the east and hope for a stroke of luck.
15 to 20 shooting stars per hour are predicted, so if you stand in a dark, slightly elevated place, you have a good chance!
So it's best to go on a trip to the country or into nature, pack warm, cozy things and maybe a thermos with tea.
The eyes get used to the darkness after 15-20 minutes.
For everyone who goes home without shooting stars: The Geminids will come in mid-December.
(KH)