Look upwards for a spectacular Leonids this year

STAR GAZERS would be wise to look to the skies over the coming days, with the arrival of the Leonids meteor shower from November 17-19.

The spectacle is scheduled to peak at 11.34pm local time tonight, when forecasters predict as many as 500 meteors per hour.

The Leonids originate from small particles of dust which the comet Tempel-Tuttle 55P leaves in the wake of its passage. Tempel-Tuttle orbits the Sun every 33 years and every November, the Earth passes through the microscopic dust particles left by its passage. These dust particles then burn up in the upper atmosphere, producing the spectacular display. They are called the Leonids as the meteors seem to appear from the constellation of Leo.

According to the Cyprus Astronomical Society, the Leonids travel at 70km per second, much faster than ordinary meteors. The greatest number will be visible after 2am on the nights of the showers, excepting during the peak of November 17. Observation of the Leonid shower will be facilitated by the new (dark) Moon occurring at the time, meaning there will be no moonlight to hinder observation. The society suggests travelling to a spot away from city lights for the optimal viewing conditions.

Scientists from Caltech University and NASA forecast that this year’s Leonid shower should be particularly numerous as this year the Earth will be passing through an especially large debris cloud that the Comet Tempel-Tuttle left in its wake.

The Leonids approach the Earth nearly head on, and so appear very swift, often bright, with many leaving bright trails, known as trains, behind them. The visible train of the meteor will generally be long near midnight and become a bit shorter as the radiant (the point in the sky where the meteors appear to originate from) rises higher in the sky.

The Cyprus Mail is the only English-language daily newspaper published in Cyprus. It was established in 1945 and today, with its popular and widely-read website, the Cyprus Mail is among the most trusted news sites in Cyprus. The newspaper is not affiliated with any political parties and has always striven to maintain its independence. Over the past 70-plus years, the Cyprus Mail, with a small dedicated team, has covered momentous events in Cyprus’ modern history, chronicling the last gasps of British colonial rule, Cyprus’ truncated independence, the coup and Turkish invasion, and the decades of negotiations to stitch the divided island back together, plus a myriad of scandals, murders, and human interests stories that capture the island and its -people. Observers describe it as politically conservative.