Leonids

[claire1985]

When? Where? And please tell me it's gonna clear up!!!

[Astro Imp]

Should be visible 17/18 Nov. but you know what the weather will be like without me telling you

[Demonperformer]

Actually, the forecast is quite promising for the early hours of the 18th - better than most of the rest of the weekend (or the early part of next week for that matter).

[claire1985]

I always miss them coz I get confused with the times. So am I better off going out early hours Sunday morning? Late Saturday night? X

[sologuitarist61]

Most meteor showers seem to be at their best about 1 -3 am, by which time Ihave usually fallen asleep on the settee tired from all the waiting

[ronin]

Hate to say it but you re better wrapping up very warm and going out from about 4am to look. Leo is pretty low in the sky at present and really doesn't start to peek up much above the horizon before midnight or 1:00am.

[claire1985]

I should probably know this but what direction should I be looking in? Can't make out much from mine because of light pollution but I might take a walk to the golf course down the road. Hopefully I'll find someone to drag with me!! X

[Photosbykev]

North East to South East, high in the sky

[Bluey]

Just looked on Metcheck, and here looks about 100% cloud! Doh!

[jonathan]

Cloud is sweeping south during the night (Saturday night), with a large clear area following it. It will probably be clear for 12am in Northern England and then all night, according to the weather map. Sunday looks like being a pretty clear sunny day in the North too.

[claire1985]

According to my met app Birmingham is going to be lovely and clear tonight, until around 7am :-D

Just wanted to check, does Leo rise in the north east? Star charts confuse me slightly x

[Photosbykev]

Rises just North of East around midnight and then drifts south at 15 degrees per hour as it climbs up into the sky

[claire1985]

Ah thanks for that! I've lots of people asking me, wanted to be sure xxx

[Laowei Tony]

I read somewhere that peaks were expedted on the 17th and 19th.

If you have an iPhone or iPad you can download the Planets app (it's free) and it will show you where the constellation of Leo is at the moment (for me now it will be rising in about an hour). You can also set the time and date to see where any constellation will be at a given time.

Hope you have clear skies back home.

[redfox1971]

Sky at night mag says the peak of the shower will be on 13th December 23.30 onwards with a zenithal hourly rate of 120 meteors per hour,I'd say that rate would be in a pitch black location with no light pollution,uk be more like 15 a hour if your lucky as no doubt people will have their Christmas lights flashing away lol.

[Photosbykev]

Sky at night mag says the peak of the shower will be on 13th December 23.30 onwards with a zenithal hourly rate of 120 meteors per hour,I'd say that rate would be in a pitch black location with no light pollution,uk be more like 15 a hour if your lucky as no doubt people will have their Christmas lights flashing away lol.

That's the Geminids meteor shower not the Leonids. The Geminids shower should produce a lot more meteors

[Photosbykev]

Tonight is looking very promising for clear skies but I'm not holding my breath lol but I am prepping a couple of cameras and dc power supplies for dew straps and the cameras.

[redfox1971]

oops had that feeling i had wroung one when i hit post button .O well looking very good here for tonight,going be a cold one.

[JamesF]

I'm not sure you need to wait for Leo to rise at all. My understanding is that they're no more likely to be seen around the radiant point than anywhere else. Can't recall where I read that though.

James

[JamesF]

Just checked the weather forecast for here for this evening, which is clear up to just after midnight. Typically, we are out for a fair chunk of this evening

James

[Photosbykev]

I'm not sure you need to wait for Leo to rise at all. My understanding is that they're no more likely to be seen around the radiant point than anywhere else. Can't recall where I read that though.

James

You're right, it depends on how we hit them and at what angle but if you trace the line of a leonid meteor back to it's source it should be the Leo region. The higher the constellation is above the horizon increases the chance of seeing some of the meteors coming out 'sidewards' from the radiant and seeing the meteor trails before they burn out under the horizon

[claire1985]

Will I be disappointed? I've set my alarm for 2am just incase I fall asleep but I live in a well lit area. The view from my front door is not to bad as houses block most of the light, I can't travel as I have my two year old at home, which is typical as she's not usually here Saturdays :-/ is it really going to be worth getting up? X

[Photosbykev]

Will I be disappointed? I've set my alarm for 2am just incase I fall asleep but I live in a well lit area. The view from my front door is not to bad as houses block most of the light, I can't travel as I have my two year old at home, which is typical as she's not usually here Saturdays :-/ is it really going to be worth getting up? X

You certainly aren't going to see hundreds of them, maybe 5 - 6 in an hour if you are looking in the right direction, which is always fun trying to guess where the next one will be. The Geminids on Dec 13rd will be the next opportunity with a higher hourly rate.

If the clouds stay away it's worth looking up any time of the night as you might catch one

[claire1985]

It's beautifully clear here at the mo. if I didn't have my daughter is have a walk over the golf course at the end of my road, pretty open views and dark-ish. Might have a walk down with her after tea :-) be good to show her some stars anyway x