Fast-moving, bright meteors light up the night sky during Leonid meteor shower - CNN

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Known arsenic immoderate of the fastest meteors around, the Leonids blaze crossed the nighttime entity annually during the period of November. Historically, they are considered to beryllium 1 of the astir awesome meteor showers connected record, mostly owed to the meteor tempest they signifier astir each 33 years, causing thousands of meteors to rainfall down successful the nighttime sky.

This is not a twelvemonth for a storm, but determination are inactive galore chances to spot the superb Leonids. On Thursday night, the ablution is expected to highest astatine 7 p.m. ET, according to EarthSky. The celestial lawsuit volition beryllium disposable to each of those connected the nighttime broadside of the satellite astatine that time.

The Leonid meteor ablution is progressive done December 2, alongside the process extremity of the North Taurid meteor shower. Around their peak, entity gazers could perchance observe 10 to 15 meteors per hour. The meteors determination successful the other absorption of Earth’s rotation, causing an astir head-on collision with the ambiance erstwhile they intersect. The abstraction rocks are often recorded shooting done the entity at 44 miles per second (71 kilometers per second) — immoderate of the fastest meteors produced from 1 of the large yearly meteor showers, according to Robert Lunsford, fireball study coordinator for the American Meteor Society.

The brighter meteors often permission down glowing trails and tin adjacent permission fume streaks successful the entity for up to respective minutes, Lunsford said.

The Leonids are besides known for striking fireballs, which are meteors truthful ample they radiance brighter than Venus, and Earth grazers, meteors that streak adjacent to the skyline and are known for their agelong and colorful tails, according to NASA.

“They are the fastest meteors produced among the large yearly meteor showers, and they person a definite look to them, similar lances, precise agelong and sharp,” Lunsford said. “They are precise impressive, particularly the agleam ones, truthful that’s wherefore they’re astir apt among my favorites.”

The forecast for Thursday evening, astir the clip of this peak, volition beryllium mostly wide skies connected the United States’ coasts (New York City and Los Angeles) with a 0% accidental of rain, according to Allison Chinchar, CNN meteorologist. Those successful the Midwest (Chicago) volition person little favorable conditions for entity watching, with overcast skies and a 30% accidental of snow.

The champion clip to enactment retired to look for a meteor is this Thursday evening into Friday morning, but the meteor nine has predicted that Earth whitethorn besides walk done a condensed watercourse of debris near down successful 1733 from the Leonids’ genitor comet, Tempel-Tuttle.

If this occurs, for a abbreviated clip connected Saturday greeting astatine astir 1 a.m. ET, determination could beryllium up to 250 meteors disposable per hour, according to Lunsford. If you are connected the nighttime broadside of Earth during this time, you could spot a meteor, but it’s champion to support an oculus connected the eastbound skyline to summation your chances. (Those connected the West Coast of the United States volition person an adjacent shorter model to spot this outburst, arsenic Leo, the constellation from which the meteors look to radiate from, volition inactive beryllium beneath the horizon.)

“We’ve gone backmost hundreds of years — due to the fact that the comet passes done the interior star strategy possibly each 33 years — truthful each 1 of those paths has been mapped out,” Lunsford said. “We tin beauteous overmuch nail the clip and the date, but we person nary thought what the density of the particles are. So, it could beryllium exciting, oregon it could beryllium a dud.”

The meteor society recommends going extracurricular astatine slightest 30 minutes anterior to the shower’s peaks, to let your eyes to set to the dark. Since the satellite volition emergence adjacent the aforesaid clip arsenic the radiant constellation, it’s champion to look successful a absorption distant from its light.

“Anybody tin lend scientifically utile accusation by conscionable taking a fewer notes connected these meteors. … You tin spell retired and number however galore you tin see.” Lunsford said.

“It’s fun, it’s inexpensive and it’s a bully mode for families to get together. If your skies are wide astatine that time, I wouldn’t privation to miss it.”

There are lone 2 much meteor showers you tin spot earlier the extremity of the year, according to EarthSky’s 2022 meteor ablution guide. Here’s erstwhile they peak:

• December 14: Geminids

• December 22: Ursids

There is 1 much afloat satellite connected the The Old Farmer’s Almanac calendar for 2022: Check retired the acold satellite connected December 7.