Leonids

E572587

The Leonids are a prolific annual meteor shower that peaks in mid-November and is known for occasionally producing spectacular meteor storms originating from Comet Tempel–Tuttle.

Try in SPARQL Jump to: Statements Referenced by

Statements (45)

Predicate Object
instanceOf meteor shower
activityEnd around 30 November
activityStart around 6 November
associatedWith Comet Tempel–Tuttle dust trails
culturalImpact 1833 storm widely reported in newspapers and diaries
discoveredBy Horace Parnell Tuttle NERFINISHED
Wilhelm Tempel NERFINISHED
hemisphereVisibility both Northern and Southern Hemispheres
IAUShowerNumber 13
influenced development of meteor astronomy after 1833 storm
knownFor bright, fast meteors
highly variable rates between years
occasional meteor storms
meteorAppearance often leave persistent trains
meteorColor typically white to bluish
meteorComposition dust and small particles from Comet Tempel–Tuttle
meteorStormDefinition zenithal hourly rate exceeding 1000 meteors per hour
meteorTrailEntryAngle steep relative to Earth’s atmosphere
meteorVelocity about 71 km/s
meteorVelocityCategory one of the fastest major meteor showers
name Leonids NERFINISHED
notableStormLocation1833 North America NERFINISHED
notableStormYear 1833
1866
1867
1966
1999
2001
observationBestTime after local midnight
observationRequirement dark, clear skies
orbitPeriodOfParentComet about 33 years
parentBody 55P/Tempel–Tuttle NERFINISHED
parentCometDesignation 55P/Tempel–Tuttle NERFINISHED
parentCometDiscoveryYear 1865
parentCometPerihelionInterval about every 33 years
peakMonth November
peakSolarLongitude about 235°
radiantConstellation Leo NERFINISHED
scientificSignificance helped establish link between comets and meteor showers
showerCode LEO NERFINISHED
showerType cometary debris stream
stormPeriodicity enhanced activity near Tempel–Tuttle perihelion
typicalMeteorMagnitude around +2 to +3
typicalPeakPeriod mid-November
typicalZenithalHourlyRate 10–15 meteors per hour

Referenced by (1)

Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.

Leo containsMeteorShower Leonids