Find a dark spot and grab a blanket and a drink

 

THE LEONIDS meteor shower, which will is visible throughout this week in Cyprus will peak tonight, the Astronomical Society’s Takis Christodoulides said.

People should cast their eyes to a – hopefully cloudless – sky but take note that a bright moon is set to rise a little before midnight obscuring the phenomenon, Christodoulides said.

“Those who are interested in fully accommodating the mediocre viewing conditions should go to the countryside and look away from the moon,” Christodoulides said.

A meteorite part can enter the atmosphere at phenomenal speeds between about 40,000 and 265,000 kilometres an hour becoming visible at 90km away from the earth and burning soon after at 80km, Christodoulides said.

One of the sparkling bits visible to the naked eye may be no bigger than a pea and weigh only 30 grammes although on a single day meteorite material entering the atmosphere weighs between 100 tonnes and 1,000 tonnes, Christodoulides said.

The meteor shower is associated with the comet Tempel-Tuttle.

 

 

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