In early winter "listen to the lion roar", the Leo meteor shower is coming again
The sky has known
More than 20 years ago, the Leonid meteor shower left a deep impression on people and set off an astronomical fever.
Now, it's the moment of "Lion Roar" in early winter. Will there be an outbreak of the Leo meteor shower this year?
What about the observation conditions?
How can scientific observation be able to appreciate this meteor feast?
As the name suggests, the radiant point of the Leo meteor shower is located in the Leo sky area, the representative constellation of the spring night starry sky.
When it reaches its maximum in mid-November every year, the radiant point will rise close to midnight, so observing the Leonid meteor shower will not start until midnight.
In a normal year, the flow of the Leonid meteor shower is not too large. Even under the most ideal conditions, the number of meteors you can see per hour is only about 10.
But about every 33 years in history, this meteor shower will have a certain scale of outbreaks.
It is reported that there were 35,000 observation records per hour in the United States in November 1833.
Therefore, the Leo meteor shower is also dubbed the "king of the meteor shower", and "the roar of the lion" is also the most appropriate description of the past outbreak.
In fact, the outburst period of the Leo meteor shower around 33 years is related to the return period of the mother comet 55P/Tempel-Tuttle.
It is the material thrown out by this comet when it is active that brings us the spectacular meteor shower.
In 1998, when the mother comet returned, the huge flow of the Leonid meteor shower reached more than 400 per hour, which is the so-called "meteor rainstorm" level.
In 2001, the Leonid meteor shower was active again, and many bright fire meteors appeared.
If the return period of the mother comet is related to the activity of the Leo meteor shower, it may be difficult to observe its outbreak in the past ten years.
However, if the Earth passes through the center of the dust cluster left by the return of the comet, the flow of the Leonid meteor shower may still increase slightly.
According to current forecasts, this year's peak will appear at 19:00 on November 17th, Beijing time. There will be no obvious outbreaks, and the hourly flow will be about 10 to 20.
For observers in our country, you can try to observe from midnight to dawn on November 17th and 18th.
The Leo meteor shower often has some small-scale large-scale appearances, and if you are lucky, you can also see many fire meteors.
Fast speed is the obvious characteristic of meteors in the Leonid meteor shower.
Meteor bodies will enter the atmosphere at a speed of 70 kilometers per second, and the "apparent speed" we see will also be very fast, which can be described as fleeting. I believe it will leave a deep impression on friends who watch the Leonid meteor shower.
When observing meteor showers, it is important to stay away from light pollution.
On the one hand, we must try to avoid the light pollution in the city; on the other hand, it would be great if there is no moonlight.
One of the great observations of the Leonid meteor shower this year is that there is no moonlight.
November 17th and 18th are the third and fourth day of October in the lunar calendar. The crescent moon will soon fall after sunset and will not interfere with observations in the second half of the night.
But we also need to remind everyone that the temperature in most parts of my country is very low in the middle of the night in mid-November, especially the mountainous areas far away from towns are already very cold. Observing meteor showers must pay attention to safety and warmth.
Having said that, everyone has a general understanding of this year's Leo meteor shower.
To watch the meteor shower, keep a calm mind. Even if you don't wait for a meteor to appear for a few minutes, the stars in the sky will make you happy physically and mentally and forget a lot of worries.
(The author is an associate researcher at the Beijing Planetarium)