The night sky on the night of the great Leonid meteor storm of 1966 — 17 November 1966

Before dawn on 17 November 1966 observers in the American Southwest saw the most intense meteor storm of the 20th century. At its peak, watchers at Kitt Peak in Arizona estimated Leonid meteors falling at dozens per second, streaming out of the constellation Leo. The meteors were debris from comet Tempel–Tuttle.

The sky over Kitt Peak, Arizona, USA

This is the real sky above Kitt Peak, Arizona, USA (31.96°N, 111.60°W) on 17 November 1966 at 04:00 MST (UTC−7) — near the peak of the storm (1966-11-17 11:00 UTC). The Sun was 37° below the horizon: it was full night. The Moon (waxing crescent, 26% lit) was below the horizon. Planets above the horizon: Jupiter (70° in the south-east) and Mars (25° in the east). Brightest named stars up: Sirius, Capella, Rigel, Procyon and Betelgeuse.

Star map of the sky over Kitt Peak, Arizona, USA on 17 November 1966 at 04:00 JupiterMars SiriusCapellaRigelProcyonBetelgeuseAldebaranPolluxRegulus NSEW
802 stars brighter than magnitude 5 above the horizon, with the constellation figures. Look up: north at the top, east on the left.

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