Leonidy are a popular meteor shower suitable for amateur radio connections. The swarm is active od 6. do 30.novembra 2018 s predikovaným maximom 17.novembra. Tento údaj sa však bude ešte spresňovať. Najvhodnejšie časy spojení pre tieto smery sú: JZ – SV: 01 – 05 UTC, V – Z: 04 – 07 UTC, JV – SZ: 06 -10 UTC a S – J: 23 – 04 a 07 – 11 UTC. Pre vizuálne pozorovania odporúčam menej skúseným pozorovateľom pomôcť si vizualizáciou nočnej oblohy na stránke https://www.timeanddate.com/astronomy/meteor-shower/leonids.html
Behind the essence of this meteor shower is the wonderful interplay of the universe. Every 33 years, Comet Tempel-Tuttle comes close to the Sun, and the radiation releases a lot of cometary material, mainly dust, from its surface into the surrounding space. If it gets close to the Earth, the gravitational field will take care of capturing and pulling it, which will cause a unique meteor shower.
In the search for the history of the Leonids, we reach the year 902. The first scientific report was prepared in 1799 by the famous naturalist Alexander von Humboldt during an expedition in the Orinoco river basin. The most amazing experience, however, was prepared by the Leonids in 1966 again over North America. At its peak, the frequency of up to 100,000 meteorites per hour was recorded! According to eyewitnesses, meteors literally rained from the sky.