The Leonid Meteor Shower 2013 is about to peak, and there are several ways to watch it, including on live video.
The shower peaks on November 16, into the early hours of November 17.
The best place to watch the shower is somewhere with an open sky, because Leonid meteors can appear in any part of it, NASA advises.
“Lie on the ground and look straight up into the dark sky,” it says. “It is important to be far away from artificial lights. Your eyes can take up to 30 minutes to adjust to the darkness, so allow plenty of time for your eyes to dark-adapt.”
The shower is best viewed from midnight until dawn.
Unfortunately, there will be a full moon shining during the peak, driving the rate or 10-20 visible meteors per hour down to less than 10.
However, that’s still a pretty good chance of seeing some good ones.
For those unable to make it to open skies–perhaps city residents–NASA is live-streaming the view of the skies over Huntsville, Alabama here.
NASA further details the meteor shower: “Leonids are also known for their fireballs and earthgrazer meteors. Fireballs are larger explosions of light and color that can persist longer than an average meteor streak. This is due to the fact that fireballs originate from larger particles of cometary material. Fireballs are also brighter, with magnitudes brighter than -3. Earthgrazers are meteors that streak close to the horizon and are known for their long and colorful tails.”
