Amazing Leonid meteor shower peaked early Saturday, and some night sky watchers caught a great view.
If you missed this peak, there'll be another chance to gaze on Nov. 20
The Leonid meteor shower peaked early Saturday, and some night sky watchers caught a great view.
The Leonids are a yearly meteor display
of shooting stars that appear to radiate out of the constellation Leo.
They are created when Earth crosses the path of debris from the comet
Tempel-Tuttle, which swings through the inner solar system every 33
years. This year, the Leonids are offering an especially good show because the moon is only in its crescent phase right now (so its light isn't too bright to wash out the meteors) and it sets in the west long before the constellation Leo begins to rise into the night sky.
One skywatcher, photographer Scott Tully in rural Connecticut, was delighted to snap a photo of a bright Leonid meteor as it streaked overhead just after 5 a.m. EST on Saturday. He summed the experience up in one word: "Amazing!"
Another observer, Mike Hankey of Freeland, Md., also snapped gorgeous photos of the Leonids before dawn Saturday morning.
No comments:
Post a Comment