Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs

Good prospects await observers of 1998's Leonid meteor shower

On a mid-November night in 1833, millions of Americans awoke to strange flashes of light. Peering outside, they discovered the night sky ablaze with meteors, pouring from the constellation of Leo at a rate of thousands to tens of thousands per hour. For many, amazement was tempered by terror -- surely the Day of Judgment was near!

A bright meteor streaks toward the horizon

Sponsored
Sponsored

Other, less well noted, but very active November meteor showers or "storms" had happened in 1799 and 1832, and still others recurred in 1866, 1867, 1900, and 1901. The approximate 33-year periodicity of these events failed in the early 1930s, but the Leonids (as they are now called) roared back to life on the morning of November 17, 1966, when more than 100,000 meteors per hour were seen from certain locales in the American Southwest.

The modern scientific explanation of the Leonid phenomenon attributes the meteors to small particles shed from a comet (specifically, a familiar one known as Comet Tempel-Tuttle) that collide with Earth's upper atmosphere in parallel streams. Each particle disintegrates in a blaze of light as it plows through the air at more than 100,000 miles per hour, appearing and disappearing from view in a fraction of a second. By the effect of perspective, the paralleling paths of these particles create the illusion that the meteors originate from a single "vanishing point" in the sky, called the shower's radiant. All Leonids radiate from Leo, a constellation that at this time of year lies above the horizon from about 11 p.m. onward.

Both the planet Earth and any stream of cometary debris must be at the same place in space at the same time to generate appreciable meteor activity -- a circumstance that occurs no more frequently than once a year, when Earth returns to the same spot on its orbital path around the sun. In the case of the Leonids, our chance of encountering a particularly dense strand of the cometary material responsible is greatly improved roughly every 33 years.

Next week, the odds are reasonably good for a repeat performance of the great meteor storms of 1833 and 1966. Intense activity is most likely to occur on the night and early morning of November 16-17, and repeat performances are possible on the same date in 1999 and 2000. Since the peak intensity of the shower tends to be short-lived, it is possible that we may miss it on account of daylight. Some astronomers believe that this year's peak will occur during the late morning hours (Pacific time) on the 17th -- good for observers in the Eastern Hemisphere who will be in darkness, but not good for us in the United States.

If the weather is fair this Monday night/early Tuesday morning, consider starting a sky-watching vigil at around 11 p.m. or midnight. Meteor rates should improve as the clock inches toward dawn, approximately 5 a.m. Any meteor watching will be enormously improved if you remove yourself from the light-polluted city and travel to dark locales such as our local mountains (Palomar, Cuyamaca, Laguna) or our local desert (Anza-Borrego).

You don't need a telescope, which would only restrict your view. Rather, simply lie back in a warm sleeping bag at any site with a relatively unobstructed view of the whole sky. And be prepared to repent.... The Day of Judgment is nigh!

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

Reader 1st place writing contest winner gets kudos

2nd place winner not so much

On a mid-November night in 1833, millions of Americans awoke to strange flashes of light. Peering outside, they discovered the night sky ablaze with meteors, pouring from the constellation of Leo at a rate of thousands to tens of thousands per hour. For many, amazement was tempered by terror -- surely the Day of Judgment was near!

A bright meteor streaks toward the horizon

Sponsored
Sponsored

Other, less well noted, but very active November meteor showers or "storms" had happened in 1799 and 1832, and still others recurred in 1866, 1867, 1900, and 1901. The approximate 33-year periodicity of these events failed in the early 1930s, but the Leonids (as they are now called) roared back to life on the morning of November 17, 1966, when more than 100,000 meteors per hour were seen from certain locales in the American Southwest.

The modern scientific explanation of the Leonid phenomenon attributes the meteors to small particles shed from a comet (specifically, a familiar one known as Comet Tempel-Tuttle) that collide with Earth's upper atmosphere in parallel streams. Each particle disintegrates in a blaze of light as it plows through the air at more than 100,000 miles per hour, appearing and disappearing from view in a fraction of a second. By the effect of perspective, the paralleling paths of these particles create the illusion that the meteors originate from a single "vanishing point" in the sky, called the shower's radiant. All Leonids radiate from Leo, a constellation that at this time of year lies above the horizon from about 11 p.m. onward.

Both the planet Earth and any stream of cometary debris must be at the same place in space at the same time to generate appreciable meteor activity -- a circumstance that occurs no more frequently than once a year, when Earth returns to the same spot on its orbital path around the sun. In the case of the Leonids, our chance of encountering a particularly dense strand of the cometary material responsible is greatly improved roughly every 33 years.

Next week, the odds are reasonably good for a repeat performance of the great meteor storms of 1833 and 1966. Intense activity is most likely to occur on the night and early morning of November 16-17, and repeat performances are possible on the same date in 1999 and 2000. Since the peak intensity of the shower tends to be short-lived, it is possible that we may miss it on account of daylight. Some astronomers believe that this year's peak will occur during the late morning hours (Pacific time) on the 17th -- good for observers in the Eastern Hemisphere who will be in darkness, but not good for us in the United States.

If the weather is fair this Monday night/early Tuesday morning, consider starting a sky-watching vigil at around 11 p.m. or midnight. Meteor rates should improve as the clock inches toward dawn, approximately 5 a.m. Any meteor watching will be enormously improved if you remove yourself from the light-polluted city and travel to dark locales such as our local mountains (Palomar, Cuyamaca, Laguna) or our local desert (Anza-Borrego).

You don't need a telescope, which would only restrict your view. Rather, simply lie back in a warm sleeping bag at any site with a relatively unobstructed view of the whole sky. And be prepared to repent.... The Day of Judgment is nigh!

Comments
Sponsored
Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

Top Websites To Buy Instagram Likes + Bonus Tip!

Next Article

Nation’s sexy soldiers stage protest at Pendleton in wake of change in Marine uniform policy

Semper WHY?
Comments
Ask a Hipster — Advice you didn't know you needed Big Screen — Movie commentary Blurt — Music's inside track Booze News — San Diego spirits Classical Music — Immortal beauty Classifieds — Free and easy Cover Stories — Front-page features Drinks All Around — Bartenders' drink recipes Excerpts — Literary and spiritual excerpts Feast! — Food & drink reviews Feature Stories — Local news & stories Fishing Report — What’s getting hooked from ship and shore From the Archives — Spotlight on the past Golden Dreams — Talk of the town The Gonzo Report — Making the musical scene, or at least reporting from it Letters — Our inbox Movies@Home — Local movie buffs share favorites Movie Reviews — Our critics' picks and pans Musician Interviews — Up close with local artists Neighborhood News from Stringers — Hyperlocal news News Ticker — News & politics Obermeyer — San Diego politics illustrated Outdoors — Weekly changes in flora and fauna Overheard in San Diego — Eavesdropping illustrated Poetry — The old and the new Reader Travel — Travel section built by travelers Reading — The hunt for intellectuals Roam-O-Rama — SoCal's best hiking/biking trails San Diego Beer — Inside San Diego suds SD on the QT — Almost factual news Sheep and Goats — Places of worship Special Issues — The best of Street Style — San Diego streets have style Surf Diego — Real stories from those braving the waves Theater — On stage in San Diego this week Tin Fork — Silver spoon alternative Under the Radar — Matt Potter's undercover work Unforgettable — Long-ago San Diego Unreal Estate — San Diego's priciest pads Your Week — Daily event picks
4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs
Close

Anchor ads are not supported on this page.