SAASST News

Monday, 11 December 2023 09:41

UAEMMN Observation Report Leonids Meteor Shower Peak 2023

Fig. 1 UAEMMN Leonids Meteor shower peak observation Nov 16, 2023, to Nov 19, 2023. Fig. 1 UAEMMN Leonids Meteor shower peak observation Nov 16, 2023, to Nov 19, 2023.

The Leonids meteor shower originates from the remnants of Comet Tempel-Tuttle and is active from Nov 6 to the 30th.

Named after the constellation Leo, where its radiant point is, the peak of this meteor shower in 2023 is expected to occur around the 17th -18th of November. During this time, the Moon will be in a waxing crescent phase, with only 20% illumination, which may allow clearer observations.

 

The Leonids meteor shower was observed with the three observational stations of the UAE Meteor Monitoring Network (UAEMMN) in Sharjah, Al Yahar, and Liwa, respectively.

 

Due to the weather conditions, the Sharjah tower was not operational on the peak night. But, the UAEMMN's other two towers conducted a successful observation. The results from the observations are shown in Figure 1 below. The observed peak occurred on the night of the 19th instead of the expected 17th-18th, with 27 recorded total meteors.