Brilliant celestial firework to light up night sky on Nov 17

New Delhi, Nov 15 (PTI) Startling streaks of light
will brighten up the sky with the Leonid meteor shower on
Tuesday night.

Sky gazers are expected to see shooting stars whizzing
past in the skies at an amazing rate as Leonid meteor shower
will be seen on the night of November 17 and 18, SPACE
President C B Devgun told PTI.
Leonids are a prolific meteor showers associated with
the comet 55p/Tempel-Tuttle, he said, adding that it is
visible every year around November 17 when the Earth passes
through the stream of debris of the comet.
"As the night progresses, the number of meteors is
expected to rise and if the forecast timings are accurate, it
may peak between 0304 hrs and 0314 hrs of November 18 and may
have hundreds per hour. But this year, the meteors will be
much faster and of short duration," Devgun said.
The Indian subcontinent is best placed for the
spectacle this year and one can expect a strong outburst
(during the peak), where the rates may race up to 300 per
hour," Indian Institute of Astrophysics scientist R C Kapoor
told PTI.
The name Leonids is given as the point of origin of
the shower, lies in the direction of the constellation of Leo.
Leonid showers are famous for being among the most
spectacular fire works in the night sky since long. The great
Leonids meteor storm seen in the year 1833 has become a legend
for the great strength it showed up with. It was followed with
similar ones in 1866 and 1867. However, in 1998 the showers
were much below expectation. (MORE) PTI SG
ANU


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