A new Leonid Meteor Shower

Here’s how NASA describes the Leonid meteor shower :

The Leonids have not only produced some of the best meteor showers in history, but they have sometimes achieved the status of meteor storm. During a Leonid meteor storm, many thousands of meteors per hour can shoot across the sky. Scientists believe these storms recur in cycles of about 33 years, though the reason is unknown. The last documented Leonid meteor storm occurred in 2002.

A new Leonid Meteor Shower 2010 is expected to reach its peak visibility two to three hours before dawn on November 17 and 18, according to the editors of StarDate magazine.

NASA said, if skies are clear, stargazers should expect to see at least 15 meteors per hour.  The best viewing time for the Leonid Meteor Shower will be just before dawn, NASA added.

Check out Leonid meteor showers photos from past below:

BADELING PASS, CHINA: The Leonid meteor shower lights up the sky above China’s Great Wall as stargazers brave the minus 20 degrees Celcius (minus 4 degrees Fahrenheit) temperature  and walk up the wall with their flashlights 18 November  in Badaling. AFP PHOTO/Stephen SHAVER  (Photo credit should read STEPHEN SHAVER/AFP/Getty Images)

 

 

AZRAK, JORDAN: Photo dated 18 November 1999  shows a Leonid meteor storm over the Azrak  desert, 90 km east of Amman.  (JAMAL NASRALLAH/AFP/Getty Images)