Posted by: Doug_Ritter
Leonids - 11/17/01 03:22 AM
I just thought I would remind everyone here of the Leonids Meteor Shower which is due very early Sunday morning (at least that's the times in southwestern U.S.). This message below is from a good friend who is a respected amateur astronomer and who writes on the subject for Space.com and others. He was answering my question as to if the hype was worth staying up all night. <br><br>We're going out with him and friends to watch.<br> <br>---------------<br><br>Predicting meteor showers is a bit like predicting the weather in that nothing is certain, but it does look quite likely that on the wee hours of Sunday morning we may have a spectacular meteor show, mostly over the western U.S. and Pacific Rim. The 3am time is only very approximate; it could peak anytime from roughly midnight to sunrise and there could be multiple peaks. During that time it's very likely that at a number of locations (Arizona is one of them) will see a very rare "meteor storm," an extremely intense meteor display of dozens to hundreds of meteors _per minute_, thousands per hour.<br><br>An event like this happened in 1833 (again with the Leonids) and it was so intense that people all across the U.S. ran outside their homes and panicked at the sight, not knowing what it was. To many people it looked like the sky was on fire, many thought the world was ending. It happened again with the Leonids in 1866 and 1966. In the 1966 event there were many measurements made, and one instrument count showed that the meteor storm had peaked with a period a few minutes long when the rate had hit 40,000 meteors per hour -- more than 10 _per second_, with dozens and dozens visible in the air at one time. That is the kind of sight one would never forget.<br><br>Three years ago Sharon and I saw a much smaller flare-up of the Leonids that at times had 5 or 6 meteors in the air at one time. For an hour or so there was a continual rain of meteors, one after another like machine-gun fire darting everywhere in the sky. It was one of the most memorable sights I've ever seen, but it was nothing like a full meteor storm.<br><br>To see this thing the only thing needed are open eyeballs and a comfy chair under dark skies. Practically speaking you'll also want very warm clothes (sitting around in the boonies at 3am on a November morning is very cold work -- I speak from much shivering experience) and some hot drinks would be very nice to have.<br><br>If you're interested in more info on this whole Leonids thing and how it happens, Space.com (www.space.com). This is *the* big story in astronomy right now, so there should be several more articles there on it, including details of the meteor forecasts for this weekend.<br>--------------<br><br>Enjoy!<br><br><br>