I featured this photo 8 years again, but with the incredible run of northern lights we’ve been having and the massive spike in interest in getting out under the night sky coupled with the rise of the Detroit Lions as an NFL superpower, it’s a great time to bring back this feature from Space.com on How to Watch the Leonids Meteor Shower:
The Leonid meteor shower will be active from Nov. 3 to Dec. 2 this year and will peak overnight from Nov. 17 to 18. The Leonids are produced when Earth passes through the debris left behind by comet 55P/Tempel-Tuttle during its highly elliptical orbit around the sun every 33 years. The Leonids are considered some of the fastest meteors, zipping through the sky at 44 miles (71 kilometers) per second, according to NASA. They can also result in impressive fireballs producing long, bright and colorful meteor streaks.
The Leonids’ radiant is located in the sickle-shaped head of the constellation Leo, the lion. Leonid meteor hunting can be incredible, or a total bust. It all depends on where its parent body, Comet 55P/Tempel-Tuttle, will be in its orbit and the kind of debris clumps that will be around when our planet passes through this comet’s orbit. The Leonids put on big shows in 1966, 1999 and 2001, according to AMS, when the comet was making its closest approach to the sun. It will be several years until observers get a big show from the Leonids.
Ross took this photo ten years ago in late September of 2014 and shared:
The sky was cloudy most of the night, but at 3:30am there wasn’t a cloud in the sky. We made our way to the lakeshore and sure enough the northern lights were dim on the northern horizon. At one point you could hear the howl of a distant wolf pack while the northern lights were out. Then moments later a slow move fireball flashed across the sky. It lasted a couple seconds and the brightness pulsed as it moved through the atmosphere. After that the aurora faded, but several more meteors (some very bright) streaked above us.
Ssee more in his Porcupine Mtns gallery on Flickr, and definitely check out Ross Ellet’s Picturesque Adventures for much more!!
Michigan in Pictures 