Meteor Shower Known For Producing ‘Meteor Storms’ Arrives in New York State

It's a great time of year for astronomy buffs, as a number of meteor showers can be seen in the skies during coming weeks. We are in the middle of meteor season, as the Orionids will continue to streak through early November.

In addition, both the Northern and Southern Taurids meteor showers are occurring, with both producing a few meteors per hour on average.

A Supermoon also occurred earlier this week, as EarthSky had reported that the Supermoon rose in the east at sunset October 6. Before this week, the last Supermoon was November 15, 2024. The next Supermoon comes soon though, and it will 2025's biggest. We'll be able to see it November 5.

Meteor Shower Known For Producing 'Meteor Storms' Arrives in New York State

Scientists say that the Leonids meteor shower will become active from November 6 to November 30, with its peak occurring on the nights of November 16 and 17. The Leonids usually produce around 10 to 15 meteors an hour.

Meteor Storms

The Leonids are occasionally known to produce something called meteor storms, with the most recent one occurring in 2002. The AMS says that these "outbursts of meteor activity" come when the Earth follows an unusually dense part of the parent object's (Comet 55P/Tempel-Tuttle) debris cloud.

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AMS Meteors reports that the meteor storms also were seen in 1833, 1866, 1966, 1999, and 2001. However, astronomers say that the Earth will not encounter any dense clouds of debris until 2099

Astronomers says that during those events, tens of thousands of meteors fall across the skies like "rain". Some feel the Leonids will not produce any of these meteor storms again until 2099, though there are still upticks in activity expected when the comet comes closer to the Sun.