Possible Leonid Meteor Shower Resurgence
November 2006 :
Note: This article may contain outdated information
This article was published in the November 2006 issue of The Skyscraper and likely contains some information that was pertinent only for that month. It is being provided here for historical reference only.
Before I talk about the possible one night resurgence of the Leonid meteor shower, let’s examine the Earth’s encounter with the remnants of Comet 2P/Encke from the 3rd to the 12th of November. Usually this Taurid meteor display produces approximately five to ten shooting stars per hour. However, the Moon will be full on the 5th, so it will severely reduce the number of meteors that can be seen throughout the week.
Fortunately the Taurids are slow meteors, entering our atmosphere at only 17-miles per second. Therefore these shooting stars are also bright. More often than not they are yellow in color. Fairly frequently they become fireballs that fragment into multiple meteors. So even despite the moonlight I would still consider giving this shower a few hours of my time.
Though mid-month’s Leonid meteor shower is past its storm level period of activity (2000-2002), researchers suggest on the night of November 18 - 19 this year the Earth will pass through a fairly dense stream of particles left behind by Comet Tempel-Tuttle in 1932. While we will not see several hundreds or even thousands of meteors, most astronomers agree we will see many more than the normal peak rate of from 15 to 20 meteors per hour. The Moon will be a waning crescent and will not interfere with seeing the shower to best advantage.
One of the most consistent estimates I have seen places the peak rate at around 100 meteors per hour. However, peak time is around 11:45 pm on the night of the 18th. Unfortunately Leo, the constellation from where the meteors appear to radiate, will be low on the east-northeast horizon. So the number of meteors we see here will likely be somewhat less than the estimate.
What we may see is quite a few Earth-grazers around the peak time. These meteors will shoot halfway across the sky as they skim our atmosphere. Earth-grazers are fun to watch, so I encourage everyone to go out and take a look.
Leonid meteors are usually very bright since they blaze across the sky at an amazing speed of 44 miles per second. Most appear to be green or blue in color as they disintegrate in our upper atmosphere. About half them leave trains of dust which persist for minutes.
However, a majority of the meteors this year may be fairly faint. So, a key factor will be to get out in the country as far away from city lights as possible. Still, the Leonids often produce fireballs, so keep your eyes to the skies!
