Leonid meteors pepper our skies Tuesday into Wednesday

[Boris13c]

Leonid meteors pepper our autumnal skies Tuesday into Wednesday

Darting through the heavens, tiny zips of light punctuate our crisp, autumnal night sky, as the Leonid meteor shower is expected to peak Tuesday night (Nov. 17) into Wednesday morning. The forecast aims for about 15 meteors an hour during the peak, according to the American Meteor Society and the International Meteor Organization.

To help us see those shooting stars, the young crescent moon ducks out of the way, setting at about 10:25 p.m. Tuesday night. This gives diligent sky gazers – those armed with hot cocoa or decaf – a better chance to see the lovely Leonids from about 11 p.m. on Tuesday to the early morning hours on Wednesday. Provided that pesky clouds don’t obscure the evening heavens, gazers could catch a few meteors at the peak and aside from the usual metro area light pollution, the setting moon gives us a relatively good chance to enjoy the shower.

Your best bet is to get away from streetlights and bright parking lots, and try to find a dark location. After stepping out of a bright house or place, allow your eyes to adjust. While the meteors emanate from the direction of the constellation Leo the Lion in the east – late Tuesday evening – meteors may skitter through the night sky from any direction.