LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – Grab your lawn chairs, preferably ones that allow you to recline.
The Leonid meteor shower begins late in the evening of Monday, Nov. 17, and continues into the morning of Tuesday, Nov. 18.
The best place to watch is from a dark location. Try to look at a broad expanse of night sky, since the meteors will appear to come from many different directions.
The origin of the Leonids is from the constellation Leo the Lion. Leo rises after midnight, and by 3 a.m. is visible in the eastern morning sky.
There should be an average of 10 to 15 meteors per hour.
The Leonids shower is caused by the earth passing through the dust and debris left by comet Tempel-Tuttle.
While you are looking for meteors in the wee hours of the morning, the planet Jupiter will become visible in the east near Leo around 2 a.m. It’s the brightest object in the night sky next to the moon.
If staying up late to see a meteor shower just isn’t your thing, there is more to see in November in the evening.
Perseus is a beautiful constellation visible in the northern part of the sky.
Perseus was a hero in Greek mythology who beheaded the monster Medusa and saved the beautiful princess Andromeda.
Perseus has one of the night sky’s most glorious objects, the Double Cluster. Our star chart shows the location of this object.
The Double Cluster is two star clusters visible at low power in a telescope.
Both clusters are approaching the earth at a speed of 24 miles per second.
But fear not! At a distance of 7,500 light years, it would take millions of years before the clusters enveloped the Earth.
John Zimmerman is a resident of Lake County, Calif., and has been an amateur astronomer for more than 50 years. For more information about astronomy and local resources, visit his Web site at www.lakecountyskies.com .