Leonis Minorids

{{Short description|Meteor shower}}

{{Use mdy dates|date=October 2011}}

{{Infobox meteor shower

| name = Leonis Minorids

| image = Leo Minor constellation map.svg

| caption = Celestial map of Leo Minor

| pronounce =

| date =

| parent = C/1739 K1 (Zanotti)

| constellation = Leo Minor

| ra ={{Deg2HMS|162|sup=yes}}

| dec ={{DEC|+37|00|00}}

| month = {{No wrap|October 13 – November 3}}

| peak = October 20–23

| velocity = 62

| zhr = 2 (average)
13.9 (2015)

| notes =

}}

Leonis Minorids (IMO designation: LMI; IAU shower number: 22) is a weak meteor shower that takes place from October 13 until November 3 each year, peaking around October 20–23. With a weak moon the meteor shower may be visible with the naked eye, however this meteor shower is best observed only from the Northern Hemisphere with telescopic plotting. This meteor shower is linked to comet C/1739 K1 and radiates from the constellation Leo Minor, which is a faint constellation north of Leo. The meteor shower often only produces 2 meteors an hour. The meteors pass at an average speed of 62 kilometers per second.

The Leonis Minorids reached a zenithal hourly rate of around 13.9 on 21 October 2015,[https://meteorflux.org/ MeteorFlux 2.3] (Select Shower: LMI, uncheck "Use temporary database", select 2015 and click "Create graph") and a zenithal hourly rate of 10 on 20 October 2023.Archive of [https://archive.today/20231022103723/https://meteorflux.org/rt%23LMI MeteorFlux 2.1 Realtime Viewer: LMI]

Being discovered centuries ago, comet C/1739 K1 is assumed to have an orbital eccentricity of 1.0,[https://www.minorplanetcenter.net/db_search/show_object?object_id=C/1739%20K1 MPC: C/1739 K1] but could be periodic and return sometime in the next several hundred years.