Welcome to the 62nd edition of 6 Storm Team Starwatch! This is a blog that will be posted every week that will list events happening in the sky!
Monday, November 16th – early Tuesday, November 17th 2020
The Leonid meteor shower peaks late tonight/early Tuesday morning (Sky & Telescope). This year about 10-15 meteors are expected each hour (Sky & Telescope). The radiant for this meteor shower, or the point which the meteors originate from, is the Sickle of Leo (Sky & Telescope).
Meteor showers occur when the Earth’s orbit passes through the debris trail left behind by a comet (NASA). For the Leonid meteor shower, the Comet 55 P/Tempel-Tuttle is responsible for the meteors we see (Sky & Telescope).
You don’t need any special equipment to watch a meteor shower. Since meteors can be seen from any point in the sky, the best thing to do is to take a seat somewhere away from artificial light and any obstructions. Make sure to look all over the sky for the best chance at seeing a meteor.
Tuesday, November 17th – Thursday, November 19th 2020
Tuesday through Thursday nights you will be able to see Saturn and Jupiter as well as the Teapot asterism (Sky & Telescope). The image below shows what to look for in the sky.
https://skyandtelescope.org/wp-content/uploads/WEBvic20_Nov19ev.jpg
The following sites were used in the creation of this blog:
https://eclipse.gsfc.nasa.gov/SKYCAL/SKYCAL.html
https://skyandtelescope.org/astronomy-news/leonid-meteor-shower-to-the-rescue/
https://skyandtelescope.org/observing/this-weeks-sky-at-a-glance-november-13-21-2/
https://skyandtelescope.org/wp-content/uploads/WEBvic20_Nov19ev.jpg
