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The Leonid Meteor Shower 2009 is here.  The annual spectacle can be seen November 13-20, but the peak of meteoric activity will occur on Tuesday morning, November 17, 2009.

The best time to spot meteors will be after 1:30 a.m. EST and prior to sunrise.

This year, the view should be spectacular as the moon won't be visible from Earth so the skies will be even darker than usual and meteors should be easier to spot.

These meteors begin as tiny bits of debris ejected by Comet 55P/Tempel-Tuttle during its many orbits around our Sun. Over the years, these particles spread out along the comet's orbit. Every year in November, our Earth travels through this stream of dust.

The particles hit our atmosphere at a whopping 147,000 mph and vaporize instantly due to friction with the air. This is what produces the streaks of light known as meteors. The streaks appear to emanate from the constellation Leo the Lion (hence the name Leonid), which will be in the eastern sky early on Tuesday morning.

NASA says that you should be able to see 20-30 meteors per hour during peak time. Asia should have a truly phenomenal show at 200-300 meteors per hour, according to NASA.  Other astronomers say they could see as many as 500 per hour.

NASA also has a website to help you determine the best time for viewing the Leonid Meteor Shower in your area.  It's called Fluxtimator.  Just go there, enter your city which meteor shower you want to see.

Enjoy the show!

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Technorati Tags: Astronomy, Comet 55P/Tempel-Tuttle, Fluxtimator, Leonid Meteor Shower, Meteor Showers, NASA

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