The peak shower WILL be visible in north america. The peak is 4am CDT on Nov 18 and the sky will be plenty dark as the moon will be far below the horizon (moonrise is 10:07am on the 18th, CDT.) Folks on the East coast may have dawn ruin their show, but I imagine there will be plenty of lights before maximum for them to enjoy.
The meteor shower is in the constellation Leo, which at this peak will be due East at about 45deg elevation at the peak (for us Central Zone furs.) If you are on the east coast, look a little higher. If you are on the west coast, look a bit lower. The earlier you go out and look, the lower in the sky the shower will be. (Like the sun, the constellations rise in the east and cross to the west.)
Do not try to see better by using binoculars. You will not know where to look as the meteors appear and then burn up in a split second. The best way to see this spectacle is to get somewhere where there is no light pollution to the East and face that direction. Just sit back in a reclining chair, facing east, and enjoy the show.
Incidently the brightest star in Leo is Regulus.
Reality is not only stranger than we think, it's stranger than we CAN think!
I should point out a few things:
The peak shower WILL be visible in north america. The peak is 4am CDT on Nov 18 and the sky will be plenty dark as the moon will be far below the horizon (moonrise is 10:07am on the 18th, CDT.) Folks on the East coast may have dawn ruin their show, but I imagine there will be plenty of lights before maximum for them to enjoy.
The meteor shower is in the constellation Leo, which at this peak will be due East at about 45deg elevation at the peak (for us Central Zone furs.) If you are on the east coast, look a little higher. If you are on the west coast, look a bit lower. The earlier you go out and look, the lower in the sky the shower will be. (Like the sun, the constellations rise in the east and cross to the west.)
Do not try to see better by using binoculars. You will not know where to look as the meteors appear and then burn up in a split second. The best way to see this spectacle is to get somewhere where there is no light pollution to the East and face that direction. Just sit back in a reclining chair, facing east, and enjoy the show.
Incidently the brightest star in Leo is Regulus.
Reality is not only stranger than we think, it's stranger than we CAN think!