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Leonid Meteor Shower Peaks Tuesday, November 17, 2009

Contact: Rebecca Johnson
Editor, StarDate Magazine
512-475-6763; rjohnson@stardate.org

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

November 12, 2009

This year, the Leonid meteor shower best viewing will be in the hours before dawn on November 17, according to the editors of StarDate magazine.

There is uncertainty on the intensity of this year’s shower. Viewers will definitely see a dozen or more meteors per hour. Some astronomers predict, however, that the rate could be greater than 100. The Moon will not wash out any meteors: It rises after daybreak, and in its almost-new phase will be nearly invisible.

Leonid meteors appear to fall from the constellation Leo, the lion, but they are not associated with it. They are leftover debris from comet Tempel-Tuttle. As the comet orbits the Sun, it leaves a trail of debris. The Leonids meteors recur each year when Earth passes through the comet’s debris trail.

Each time comet Tempel-Tuttle gets closest to the Sun in its orbit, called “perihelion,” it sheds a significant amount of material. This creates clumps along its orbit. If the Earth passes through one of these clumps on November 17, viewers could see hundreds of meteors per hour. If Earth simply passes through the “normal” part of the comet’s debris trail, the number of meteors visible will be much lower.

For your best view, get away from city lights. Look for state or city parks or other safe, dark sites. Lie on a blanket or reclining chair to get a full-sky view. If you can see all of the stars in the Little Dipper, you have good dark-adapted vision.

Published bi-monthly by The University of Texas at Austin McDonald Observatory, StarDate magazine provides readers with skywatching tips, skymaps, beautiful astronomical photos, astronomy news and features, and a 32-page Sky Almanac each January.

Established in 1932, The University of Texas at Austin McDonald Observatory near Fort Davis, Texas, hosts multiple telescopes undertaking a wide range of astronomical research under the darkest night skies of any professional observatory in the continental United States. McDonald is home to the consortium-run Hobby-Eberly Telescope, one of the world's largest, which will soon be upgraded to begin the HET Dark Energy Experiment. An internationally known leader in astronomy education and outreach, McDonald Observatory is also pioneering the next generation of astronomical research as a founding partner of the Giant Magellan Telescope.

Note to Editors: To sign up to receive advanced notice of future skywatching events from StarDate Media, contact StarDate Editor Rebecca Johnson.