Chelyabinsk residents will see an unprecedented "firestorm" in the sky

Residents of the Chelyabinsk region, weather permitting, will be able to see an unusual rain of fire. On the night of November 18, the Leonida meteor shower will reach its peak of activity. This is the plume of comet 55P/Tempel-Tuttle, through which our planet will pass.

The comet's orbital period is 33 years. It is now approaching, then moving away from the Earth. The activity of the meteor shower is quite high. From 1998 to 2002, astronomers observed hundreds and even thousands of meteors per hour in the sky.

The International Meteor Organization predicts that the maximum will occur on November 17 at about ten o'clock in the evening Chelyabinsk time. By the way, Leonids are very fast meteors. Their speed is 71 kilometers per second. As a rule, shooting stars are white. The fact is that the stream contains solid particles that, when entering the Earth's atmosphere, become very hot, begin to glow brightly, and then burn up. At the same time, the size of meteors is small – only about a centimeter, the weight is half a gram.

Leonids are able to create unique meteor storms. During large flares, up to a thousand stars per hour can fall simultaneously. This stream was first described by Eutychius of Alexandria in 901. And in 1833, in the USA, up to 240 thousand meteors were observed to flare up per hour. The fiery rain lasted nine hours. The preachers then considered that the Day of Judgment was approaching.

Residents of the Chelyabinsk region will be able to observe the meteor shower without optical instruments - binoculars and telescopes. But for this, there must be, of course, cloudless weather. It is better to choose an area where there is no urban illumination, and the horizon is not blocked by high-rise buildings.