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An average of 15 shooting stars per hour is expected. What you have to keep in mind on this night of wishes to have the best possible view.
Leonids belong to the fastest meteor shower in history: a shooting star in the night sky of Washington DC
Photo: EPA / Nasa / Keystone
In dIthose days IIt is that moment again: the earth crosses the stream of shooting stars of the Leonids. Shooting stars are visible from the beginning of November. However, in the period from November 16 to 18, the Leonids reach their peak. the meThe only thing that could frustrate the keen sky watcher is the weather.
The meteor shower ealready reached its true maximum on Tuesday lunchtime, when no one can see it with the naked eyeonnte. On Wednesday night, however, some shooting stars can still be seen in the sky. According to Daniel Karbacher of Urania–The Zurich Observatory is expected to average 15 shooting stars per hour, one compared to past Leonid streams Current “quite weak”, according to the expert.
However, what makes Leonids special is the high speed at which they fly through Earth’s atmosphere. At about 70 kilometers per second, or 250,000 kilometers per hour, they are among the fastest meteor streams, according to Karbacher. As a result, they leave particularly long lines in the sky.
Meteor storm in Joshua Tree National Park in the US state of California in November 1998. Leonid meteor storms generally only occur every 33 years. Photo: Los Angeles Times / Getty Images
Muroto in Japan on November 18, 2009. Photo: The Asahi Shimbun / Getty Images
Rio de Janeiro in Brazil on November 17, 1998. Photo: Reuters
Karbacher advises those who want to see shooting stars to go to a dark place after midnight with a clear view of the night sky. The direction of the view does not influence. However, it is critical that the weather cooperates and the sky is clear. In cities, the high level of light pollution gets in the way.
Once you have found a place for yourself, you must first wait half an hour for your eyes to get used to the dark. No special equipment is required for observation. A telescope, for example, just unnecessarily restricts your view, says Karbacher. Nor does it make sense to go to an observatory. “It’s better to look straight ahead, like in a convertible,” says the astronomer.
“Shooting stars have to be thrown at the image like a ‘photographic bomb'”
To visually capture the show, (amateur) photographers are advised to use a tripod and a cable or remote release if possible. “The strategy is to take one photo after another, so always keep the shutter open and then wait for a star to fall from the sky during this time,” advises photographer Alessandro Della Bella.
Almost the most important thing is to turn off autofocus and focus manually. Any bright spot in the sky is suitable for this, which is focused on at maximum magnification. Della Bella advises taking a test photo before taking a photo.
Photographer Alessandro Della Bella shows in 10 steps how to get the unforgettable image of a shooting star.
Video: Anja Stadelmann
However, in the end, beautiful images are a matter of luck: “You can’t shoot shooting stars. You have to throw yourself at the image like a ‘photobomb’, “Della Bella said. She advises everyone not to go outside to photograph the shooting stars, but to look at them with the naked eye, says the photographer.
The Leonids are named after the constellation Leo (Latin: Leo), from whose direction they appear to appear. Meteors originate from the debris cloud of Comet 55P / Tempel-Tuttle. As soon as the comet fragments enter Earth’s atmosphere, they burn up and become shooting stars. Because Earth is moving in the opposite direction to the incoming meteor shower, these are particularly fast.
The next show will follow in December.
About every 33 years, Earth crosses the orbit of Comet Tempel-Tuttle. Then you can expect a lot of shooting stars. In this case there is a meteor shower with several Tthousand meteors per hour. According to from the International Meteorite Organization, this will not be the case again until 2099. In the years 2031 and 2064, however, the Leonid shooting star season will be above average.
And if you miss the Leonids this year, you can look forward to December. Then the Geminid calls are activated again. They’re the strongest meteor shower of the year and they’re catching upin Höhepyounkt uAt the time of December 14 with about 150 shooting stars per hour.
