Wake Up for "Last Chance" Meteor Shower

Photo by David Johnston, Gold Bar, Washington taken Nov 17, 2001.

The early morning hours of November 19 may be your last chance to see the spectacular Leonid meteor shower in its full glory, according to astronomers.

"Even with the full moon, this year's Leonids will probably be better than any other for the next hundred years," said Dr. Don Yeomans, an astronomer at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif. "If you're ever going to see them, this might be the year to try."

The shower is predicted to have two peaks, each a couple of hours long, during which the most meteors can be seen. The shower's second peak, most prominent in North American skies, is expected at around 5:30 a.m. EST, and promises the rare spectacle of a few meteors every minute or even more. "Observers in good locations away from city lights might see a few hundred per hour. You'll only get to see the bright ones because the moonlight will wash out the ones that aren't as bright," said Yeomans. Last year, observers did not have to contend with the Moon and saw meteors at a pace of several hundred per hour. An earlier peak is expected over Europe and Africa the night of November 18, and observers in North America might see a few grazers -- meteors skimming the top of the atmosphere -- from this first peak starting around 11:30 p.m. EST Nov. 18.

The Leonids are grains of dust from comet Tempel-Tuttle colliding into the Earth's atmosphere. Most Leonid particles are tiny and will vaporize very high in the atmosphere due to their extreme speed (about 44 miles per second, or almost 71 km/sec), so they present no threat to people on the ground or even in airplanes. The comet releases dust particles every time it comes near the Sun as it progresses in its 33-year orbit. Earth intersects the comet's debris trail every year in mid-November, but the intensity of each year's Leonid meteor shower depends on whether Earth ploughs through a particularly concentrated stream of dust within the broader debris trail.

The golden rule to watching the Leonids -- or any meteor shower -- is to be comfortable. Be sure to wrap up warmly -- a sleeping bag placed atop a lawn chair facing east is a good way to enjoy the show. Put your chair in a clear, dark place with a view of as much of the sky as possible. Don't stare at any one place -- keep your eyes moving across the sky. Most Leonids will appear as fleeting streaks of light, but watch for the bigger ones that produce fireballs and trails -- some trails will remain visible for several minutes or more. The Leonids get their name from the constellation where they appear to originate; the meteors will be radiating from the Sickle pattern in the constellation of Leo the Lion that will be rising out of the east-northeast sky. Don't look directly at the constellation, but at the area above and around it. And, though you don't need them to see the Leonids, a pair of binoculars could come in handy.

For more information, including predicted peak times for major cities, refer to: http://science.nasa.gov/headlines/y2002/09oct_leonidsforecast.htm