Leonid meteor shower

About the Leonid meteor shower:

• It is brought about by the dust and debris abandoned by the comet Tempel-Tuttle.
• It is commonly peaking in mid-November.
• The shower is called after the Leo constellation, from which the meteors appear to radiate.
• This Tempel-Tuttle comet circles the sun at regular intervals of 33 years.
• When the comet passes near the sun, it warms up and delivers a tonne of material, shaping a dense cloud of dust and gas around it.
• This cloud follows the comet's circle and fans out over the long run.
• Every year, the Earth crosses the orbit of Tempel-Tuttle in mid-November and, in some cases, experiences the comet's dust cloud.
• When this occurs, the dust particles enter the earth’s atmosphere at high speed (around 70 km/s) and catch fire, creating bright streaks of light in the sky.
• These are what we see as the meteors, the Leonid meteor shower.
• The Leonids are noted for sometimes causing meteor storms, as described by a higher influx of meteors.