Star shower over Azerbaijan: when and how to observe the Leonid meteor shower
From November 6 to 30, the Leonid meteor shower can be observed in Azerbaijan.
As reported by the Department of Astrophysics of the Faculty of Physics of Baku State University (BSU), the peak of the meteor shower is expected on November 18 at 03:45 Baku time. At that time, approximately 15 meteors per hour are forecast to fall (be observed), 1news.az reports.
The most favorable period for observing the Leonids in Azerbaijan is the night of November 17 to 18, between 02:00 and dawn. In the hours close to the peak, the setting of the Moon may create relatively favorable conditions for the visibility of faint meteors.
The Leonid meteor shower occurs annually as the Earth passes through the stream of dust and small particles left by comet 55P/Tempel-Tuttle along its orbit. Comet 55P/Tempel-Tuttle is one of the short-period comets of the Solar System. The comet completes a full revolution around the Sun in approximately 33.2 years. It was independently discovered by the German astronomer Wilhelm Tempel in 1865 and the American astronomer Horace Tuttle in 1866. The comet is named after both astronomers.
The Leonids are distinguished by their high speed. Their speed of entry into the Earth's atmosphere is approximately 71 km/s, or 255,000 kilometers per hour. This figure makes the Leonids one of the fastest meteor showers.
As a result of interaction with the atmosphere, meteor particles heat up, break apart, and glowing gas trails form along their trajectory. From the Earth's surface, this phenomenon is observed as bright streaks of light moving rapidly across the sky.
The radiant of the Leonids - that is, the point in the sky from which the meteors visually appear - is located in the constellation Leo. The meteor shower received its name precisely in honor of this constellation. Nevertheless, meteors can appear in various directions of the sky.
The Leonids are also known in the history of astronomy for powerful meteor storms. Intense events recorded in particular in 1833, 1866, 1966, and 1999-2002 aroused great scientific interest.
Meteor storms are associated with the Earth's passage through denser streams of matter in the comet's orbit.
However, no such powerful meteor storm is expected in 2026.
