Leonids meteor shower peaks next weekend

Vietnamese astronomy lovers will have the opportunity to admire the Leonids meteor shower early next Saturday morning.

The Leonids meteor shower will peak on the night of November 17 and early morning of November 18. Photo: Space.

People in both hemispheres will have the chance to admire the Leonids meteor shower next weekend. This is a relatively large meteor shower that appears around mid-November every year. This year, the Leonids are forecast to peak on the night of November 17 and early morning of November 18, which is Friday night and early Saturday morning next week, Space reported yesterday.

The Leonids meteor shower occurs when Earth passes through debris and dust left by the comet Tempel-Tuttle. The comet takes about 33 years to make an orbit around the Sun. And every 33 years, the Leonids become unusually large, producing meteor storms with about 1,000 meteors per hour at their peak.

This year, the Leonids meteor shower is forecast to be a relatively large shower with about 15 - 20 bright streaks of light per hour. Leonids appear around the constellation Leo, so some special areas such as Scotland, Canada and areas in northern Russia are considered the best places to observe this meteor shower. In addition, the Leonids meteor shower can also be observed in many other places on Earth such as North America, Europe and Asia.

Vietnam is also in the area where you can observe the Leonids meteor shower. The best time for those who want to admire the Leonids meteor shower in Vietnam is around 2am on Saturday, November 18, when the constellation Leo is quite high in the eastern horizon.

According to VNE