Stargazers can spot Venus, Jupiter, Saturn and the Leonid meteors this month – here’s how to see displays for yourself

STARGAZERS can spot Venus, Jupiter, Saturn and the Leonid meteors this month and experts have revealed how you can spot the displays.

The next four weeks will be full of dazzling sights, and Nasa has offered advice on the best times to catch a glimpse.

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Next Thursday, November 9, you’ll be able to see a crescent moon hanging just beneath Venus in the early morning sky before sunrise.

Then, on November 20, Saturn will make an appearance.

Nasa says if you look toward the south to see the planet just above a quarter moon, with the pair joined by the stunning bright stars Fomalhaut and Altair.

Then, four days later, you’ll see an almost full moon close to Jupiter after sunset.

As November draws to a close, check out Venus rising in the morning with the bright Spica star nearby.

This month is also the best time for the annual Leonid meteor shower.

The shower, which features dust particles from comet Tempel-Tuttle, and it overnight on November 17.

Nasa says the most meteors are visible between midnight and dawn the following day.

The sight can be seen from anywhere on the planet except in Antarctica, as long as the sky is clear.

Nasa said: “Leonids tend to be bright, with many producing long trains that persist for a few seconds after the initial flash of light.”

The space giant said to get the best view of all the upcoming action people should “find a safe, dark spot away from bright lights, lie down and look straight up”.

Those looking up to the sky can see up to 15 shooting stars per hour, roughly 50-75 miles in latitude.

They can be spotted with the naked eye.

The shower occurs when the Earth runs into a stream of small icy debris left behind by comet Tempel-Tuttle as it moves about the Sun.

This comet has an enormous 33-year orbit around the Sun.

When the Earth passes through the debris, it falls towards our planet’s surface.

Drag in the atmosphere causes the debris to heat up and burst into fireballs – called meteors.

These burn up before they hit the earth’s surface – causing a streak of hot air which we see as a shooting star.

The Leonid meteors represent the fastest known shower meteors, coming in at 44 miles/sec. 

They are known for their bright magnitudes.

This particular celestial event is called the Leonids because it appears to come from the Leo star constellation.

This post first appeared on Thesun.co.uk