Astrology

The Leonid meteor shower peaks as Mars and Jupiter appear close together

The Leonid meteor shower is due to peak on the night of November 16 into early November 17, with Mars and Jupiter appearing close together in the sky, Yahoo reports. At the peak, observers could see up to 15 meteors per hour.

Around midnight local time, the planets emerge above the eastern horizon, then ascend higher as daybreak approaches. Jupiter is the brighter point of light, with reddish Mars nearby, and both can be seen without a telescope, according to Yahoo.

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The Leonids appear to radiate from Leo#

The shower takes its name from Leo, the constellation containing its radiant, the point from which its meteors appear to originate. Yahoo reports that the best viewing comes in the second half of the night, after that point rises above the horizon.

Leonid meteors can flash across any part of the sky rather than only near Leo. The annual shower comes from debris left by Comet Tempel-Tuttle, according to The Korea Daily, which places the peak on November 17 and 18.

The Leonids have produced far larger displays in the past. NASA records thousands of meteors per minute during the 1966 storm, Yahoo reports, though no meteor storm is anticipated in 2026.

Mars and Jupiter meet near the Taurids#

The Korea Daily reports that Mars and Jupiter appear side by side on the mornings of November 15 and 16, between 4 a.m. and 6 a.m. Their conjunction, an apparent close pairing in the sky, occurs only once every few years, the outlet says.

The Northern Taurid meteor shower peaks on the night of November 11 into November 12, according to The Korea Daily. In areas with little light pollution, about 10 to 15 meteors per hour could be visible, including a higher-than-usual chance of fireballs, meteors brighter than Venus.

The Northern Taurids remain active through December 10, CW39 Houston reports. Later in December, the Geminids meteor shower is due to peak on December 13 and 14, according to KOCO 5 News.

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