Planetary Conjunction, Meteor Showers, and More: A Celestial Spectacle Guide for Astronomers

2023-11-13 23:00:00

Astronomers will be in for a treat next Thursday, with the conjunction of the planet Mercury and the star Antares, as the moon will be seen in conjunction with the star Antares, or Antares, with the healthy naked eye immediately following sunset on that day. The scene remains visible for only several minutes until they quickly set, around 5:45 p.m., knowing that Antares (Anares) is a red giant star with a mass 10 times the mass of the sun and is 600 light years away from us. During Friday and Saturday, November 17-18, the Earth will witness the Leonid meteor shower, which is a medium meteor shower in which the number of meteors is regarding 15 meteors per hour. These meteors are famous for having a cyclonic peak every 33 years, where hundreds of meteors can be seen per hour when they occur. This finally happened in 2001. Leonid meteors are produced from dust grains left behind by comet Tempel-Tuttle, which was discovered in 1865. This shower lasts from November 6 to 30, and this year it peaks on the night of November 17 and dawn of November 18. The best viewing will be following midnight from a completely dark place away from lights. The city where meteors appear as if they are coming from Leo, which is the reason for its name. Meteors can also appear anywhere else in the sky.

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