China News Service, Nanjing, November 18 (Reporter Yang Yanci) According to news from the Purple Mountain Observatory of the Chinese Academy of Sciences on the 18th, the Leonid meteor shower, known as the "King of Meteor Showers", will usher in its peak period today.
Whether this year's Leonid meteor shower will explode has become the focus of attention of astronomy enthusiasts.
According to experts, the parent comet of the Leonid meteor shower is comet Tempel-Tuttle.
The comet revolves around the sun every 33 years, and the burst cycle of Leonid meteors is closely related to it.
Every 33 years or so, the Leonid meteor shower will usher in several "highlight moments", with Zenith Flow (ZHR) exceeding thousands of meteors per hour.
But in a normal year, its zenith flow is about 10 to 15 per hour.
Around 2000, the Leonid meteor shower once had the scene of "stars falling like waterfalls".
Therefore, it is theoretically speculated that in the next ten years from now, the number of meteors witnessed by the public around the world will gradually increase.
Judging from the current forecast situation, the peak flow of the Leonid meteor shower this year is relatively stable, and the maximum zenith flow per hour is between 15 and 20. The possibility of a small outbreak cannot be ruled out.
Moreover, the Leonid meteor shower has many particularly bright fireballs, which are still worth looking forward to by astronomy enthusiasts.
According to experts, due to the influence of the moon phase, the radiant point on the head of Leo will not rise from the eastern horizon until half an hour before midnight, and then the meteors belonging to the Leonid meteor shower can be seen.
In the second half of the night, the Leo constellation will gradually rise, and the meteor shower will become brighter and more visible. It is expected to reach the zenith before dawn at 5 o'clock in the morning, ushering in the best viewing time.
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