Meteor Shower November 17: The Leonids peak on the night of November 17 and morning of November 18, bringing a collection of fairly reliable meteors in the eastern sky. Best viewing is after midnight in the early morning hours (around 4:00 until sunrise), when the moon will set and the Earth is better positioned to cut more meteors.
Star Date Online has a nice article and picture on the Leonids, so named because they appear to come from the constellation of the zodiac of Leo. The constellation rises in the morning sky and dominates the eastern sky. As the Sun does not break the blackness of the sky morning until half past five, the best night will be 4:00 to 5:30 at which an observer in the dark sky can see dozens of meteors per hour.
Leonids began as tiny grains of dust and debris ejected by the comet during its 55P/Tempel-Tuttle countless trips around the Sun. As the Earth passes through this stream of dust particles hit our atmosphere at approximately 158.000 mph (256.000 km / h), the vaporization of the air due to friction. This produces the streaks of light in the sky we call meteors.
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