Meteor shower to light up sky

Leonid meteor shower

The meteor shower will be visible from about 11 p.m. Monday until sunrise Tuesday. Ten thousand meteors per hour are expected. The shower will be best observed in the country or areas void of light. Meteors will appear to be concentrated in the east, but will be visible in all parts of the sky.

By Mike Ford

Special to The Capital-Journal

Although it promises to be spectacular, this week's Leonid meteor shower likely will leave sleepy observers yawning.

The Leonid meteor shower, which is associated with Comet Temple- Tuttle, will streak the sky late Monday and in the wee hours of Tuesday. It should produce 10,000 meteors per hour beginning at about 11 p.m. and lasting until sunrise.

The comet was discovered by Horace P. Tuttle, an American Civil War hero and comet hunter. The shower associated with the comet has been very active the past two years.

In the fall of 1966, more than 100,000 meteors per hour were recorded on the West Coast. The peak of this storm has been predicted between 1995 and 2002.

Astronomers from the Jet Propulsion Laboratory say the shower will increase in activity this year and won't peak like this again for 33 years. If the peak occurs this year, it will appear that the sky will be filled with hundreds or thousands of streaks of light. The streaks are made from particles of comet material that are about the size of a grain of sand and pose no threat to the Earth.

A meteor shower occurs when the Earth's orbit moves through a cloud of leftover comet material. The Leonid meteor shower is named after the constellation from which the meteors come. The constellation of Leo the Lion, which rises at about 1 a.m. Topeka time, is the location of this active shower.

Last year, the Leonids made an impressive appearance. Counting more than 200 an hour, the meteors appeared as bright streaks and some as fireballs.

Even with a full moon, observers still will be able to watch this shower and see the brighter meteors.

To observe the shower, go into the country or a backyard where the sky isn't obscured by trees or light. The concentration will appear to be in the east, but the meteors will be seen in all parts of the sky. No telescope is needed.

Mike Ford teaches astronomy at Holton High School. He can be reached via e-mail at mford@holtonks.net.

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