Leonid dust trail positions in 2000

Many meteors will be visible when the Earth encounters the 1733 trail and then the 1866 trail. The encounters may or may not be close enough to the centres of the trails to give genuine storm level activity. Observers in Europe and Africa can witness the former encounter and in eastern USA and eastern Canada the latter, a day or so after the Earth passes through the orbital plane of Comet 55P/Tempel-Tuttle. The lunar phase, around last quarter, will be unfavourable. If no meteor storm materialises, then wait for 2001. A fuller explanation of these trail cross section plots is available. Go to Armagh Observatory Leonid page.

Last Revised: 2009 November 10th