If we look at the astronomical calendar, we can define Leonidas What Perseids winter. This is the biggest rain of stars that occurs in winter, and for several days you can enjoy this spectacular event just by looking up at the sky.

When can we see Leonid?

Leonid is meteor Rain which occurs annually between November 6 and 30, reaching a maximum intensity every 33 years.

This year 2022, in particular, the rain of shooting stars will reach its maximum peak during night from 17 to 18 Novemberwith the moon in the waning phase, which will affect the correct view.

How can they be observed?

To try to observe them better -despite the moonlight- is suggested look to the horizon from midnight to dawn, in opposite side of the full moon to find more darkness.

No need to use a telescope or binoculars, like a meteor shower seen with the naked eye. However, it’s better to be in a dark room and with bad lightlike in the suburbs or, better, in the middle of nature.

What exactly is Leonid?

The Leonid Meteor is comet shard 55P/Tempel-Tuttle, discovered in 1865, and has an orbital period of 33.2 years. Every year around this time Earth flows through a ring filled with shards detached from the comet, which comes into contact with Earth’s atmosphere and creates radiant light.

It Activity level of these shooting stars is usually between ten and fifteen meteors per hour.

Why are they called that?

Its name is due to the fact that the meteor trail seems to come from constellation Leo. This is how Denison Olmsted, a professor at Yale University, christened them when he carefully watched and studied them.