The Leonids is an average shower, producing up to 15 meteors per hour at its peak. This shower is unique in that it has a cyclonic peak about every 33 years where hundreds of meteors per hour can be seen. That last of these occurred in 2001. The Leonids is produced by dust grains left behind by comet Tempel-Tuttle, which was discovered in 1865. The shower runs annually from November 6-30. It peaks this year on the night of the 17th and morning of the 18th. The nearly new moon will not be a problem this year. Skies should be dark enough for what should be good show. Best viewing will be from a dark location after midnight. Meteors will radiate from the constellation Leo, but can appear anywhere in the sky.
The public night scheduled for 18 November is canceled. Although the Clear Sky Chart[1] currently says only 50% of the sky will be covered by clouds, all of the other forecasts predict “cloudy”[2] or “mostly cloudy”[3][4] with a chance of precipitation. DC television weather-guessers all agree it will be mostly cloudy tomorrow evening with differing opinions on the timing and amount of precipitation.
Hoping for clear skies for future public nights,
R. J. ‘Tree’ Greenwood
Crockett Park Site Coordinator
[1] http://www.cleardarksky.com/c/CrckttPrkVAkey.html
[2] https://www.accuweather.com/en/us/midland-va/22728/hourly-weather-forecast/2111280?hour=40
[3] https://weather.com/weather/hourbyhour/l/22728:4:US
[4] https://www.wunderground.com/hourly/us/va/midland/date/2017-11-18?cm_ven=localwx_hour
Please read the C.M. Crockett Page for park details.
Please read the C.M. Crockett Page for park details.
This full moon was known by early Native American tribes as the Full Wolf Moon because this was the time of year when hungry wolf packs howled outside their camps. Supermoons may appear a little bigger and brighter than usual, as the moon will be closer than usual to Earth.