After weeks of cloudy skies due to recent typhoons, the public will be treated to one of the most prolific meteor showers of the year as it dazzles the night sky on Tuesday (November 17).
The Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical, and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA) said the Leonids meteor can be viewed from the eastern section of the sky during its peak from the late hours of November 17 (Tuesday) until the dawn of November 18 (Wednesday).
But unlike the previous years where it produced hundreds of meteors, astronomers and experts do not predict many meteors this year.
A zenithal hourly rate of about 15 meteors might occur, PAGASA said.
The Leonids meteor shower is created by bits of debris left behind by the repeat passages through the inner solar system of comet 55P/Tempel-Tuttle.
This Wednesday, PAGASA said partly cloudy to cloudy skies with isolated light rains may prevail over Ilocos Region, Cordillera Administrative Region, and Cagayan Valley due to the northeast monsoon or “amihan.”
Meanwhile, Metro Manila and the rest of the country will have partly cloudy to cloudy skies with isolated rain showers or thunderstorms mostly over the eastern section due to the easterlies, or warm and humid winds coming from the Pacific.