If the moon is visible, wait until dawn to look for the meteors because at that point the moon will have set for the evening, EarthSky said. Skies with a moon that is covered is best, according to EarthSky. The bright light will make it harder to see the meteors streak across the sky.įor best viewing conditions, go to a dark area with no light. The moon is unfortunately in a waxing gibbous phase on peak night, meaning that much of the moon will be visible. A meteor storm has significantly more shooting stars than a meteor shower - at least 1,000 per hour, according to NASA. Viewers of the Leonid meteor shower, in areas of the United States where the weather will be clear, should expect to see about 10 to 15 meteors per hour, EarthSky said. The comet is hurtling through space at a velocity of 44 miles (71 kilometers) per second, NASA said. Its meteor debris originates from Comet 55P/Tempel-Tuttle, a small comet about 2.24 miles (3.6 kilometers) wide, according to NASA. –Kate Tobin, Sr.This meteor shower is known for having a storm every 33 years, with the last storm happening in 2002, NASA said. I better get my request in now to go cover it for CNN! The next total solar eclipse will happen just under a year from now, July 22, 2009, and also will be a largely Asian show, though Hawaii will catch the tail end of it.

14 welder's glass, aluminized mylar, or some other approved filter. You should never look directly at the sun with the naked eye. If you are lucky enough to be in the right place at the right time to see a solar eclipse in person, eye protection is key. 'Totality,' the brief period when the sun is fully eclipsed, should happen just after 7 a.m. You can check out the projected path here. I exaggerate a bit when I say this is for Chinese sky watchers only - in fact, the event will be visible also from parts of Northern Canada, Greenland, various Arctic islands, Northern Russia and Mongolia. From a global perspective, it's not so rare: a total eclipse is visible somewhere on Earth every few years. happened in 1979 and the next one won't happen until 2017. The last one visible from the continental U.S. Relative to any fixed location on Earth, a total eclipse of the sun is a rare event. A total eclipse of the sun happens with the moon passes directly between the Earth and Sun - momentarily covering it completely, and turning day to night.

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