Colorful meteor shower to light up California sky soon — along with a supermoon
California stargazers are in for a treat over the next few days.
A major meteor shower is expected to light up the California sky, accompanied by the beaver supermoon.
The Leonid meteor shower will peak in the Northern Hemisphere overnight from Sunday, Nov. 17, to Monday, Nov. 18, according to Space.com.
The meteor shower is active through Monday, Dec. 2, in 2024.
Here’s how to catch a glimpse:
Where do meteors come from?
Meteors are leftover particles from comets and broken asteroids, according to NASA.
As comets orbit the sun, they leave dusty trails behind them.
When Earth passes through these trails, the bits of dust collide with Earth’s atmosphere, causing meteors to burn up and create bright streaks in the sky.
What is the Leonid meteor shower? When is it?
The Leonids, which peak during mid-November each year, are linked to Comet 55P/Tempel-Tuttle, according to NASA.
These swift, radiant meteors travel at speeds of 44 miles per second, the space agency said.
“They can also result in impressive fireballs producing long, bright and colorful meteor streaks,” Space.com said.
Although the Leonid meteor shower usually produces about 15 meteors per hour, the pace picks up every few decades, NASA said.
“Every 33 years or so, viewers on Earth may experience a Leonid storm that can peak with hundreds to thousands of meteors seen per hour depending on the location of the observer,” NASA said.
Observers spotted thousands of meteors per minute during a 15-minute period on the morning of Nov. 17, 1966, according to EarthSky, an Austin-based nonprofit organization that shares updates on the cosmos.
EarthSky dubbed the display “one of the greatest meteor storms in living memory.”
The last Leonid meteor storm was in 2002, NASA said.
How can I watch the meteor shower in California?
The best time to view the Leonid meteor shower in California is late on the night of Sunday, Nov. 17, until dawn on Monday, Nov. 18, according to EarthSky.
“The morning of Nov. 17 might be worthwhile, too,” the website said.
To watch the meteor shower from California skies, you should “find an area well away from city or street lights,” according to Bill Cooke, who leads NASA’s Meteoroid Environment Office at the Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama,
“Come prepared with a blanket,” Cooke said. “Lie flat on your back and look up, taking in as much of the sky as possible.”
“In less than 30 minutes in the dark, your eyes will adapt and you will begin to see meteors,” he added.
What is a beaver moon?
The beaver moon is the name for the full moon in November, according to Time and Date, an online world clock.
In the Northern Hemisphere, “This is the time of year when beavers begin to take shelter in their lodges, having laid up sufficient food stores for the long winter ahead,” The Old Farmer’s Almanac said.
Native Americans also named November’s full moon after weather and activities common in November, calling it the frost moon, freezing moon and trading moon, Time and Date said. It’s also sometimes known as the snow moon or the oak moon.
What’s a supermoon?
The term “supermoon” refers to when a full moon is orbiting close to Earth.
“During these times, the moon can appear a bit larger in the sky, although the difference can be difficult to notice with the naked eye for most observers,” Space.com said.
A supermoon appears about 30% brighter and nearly 15% bigger than a full moon at its farthest point from Earth, according to the Adler Planetarium.
When can I see the beaver supermoon in California?
The beaver supermoon will be officially full at 1:58 p.m. Pacific Time on Friday, Nov. 15, according to Time and Date.
