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Nov. skywatch: Leonid meteor shower, Jupiter
November brings sky watchers a cornucopia of astronomical delights.
Along with the mythologically related constellations of Pegasus, Andromeda, Perseus and Cassiopeia, all of which appear high in the eastern and northeastern sky during the evenings, November features prominent planets and a famous meteor shower.
The king of the planets is well-placed for evening viewing throughout November. And it couldn’t be easier to find – just look for the big, bright “star” to the south after sunset.
Jupiter is the largest planet in our solar system , with a diameter more than 10 times that of Earth’s. To put that in perspective, imagine Jupiter as a golf ball. At that scale, Earth would be the size of a BB.
Jupiter is so big that you don’t even need a telescope to make out a few details. Binoculars will reveal a few of its atmospheric bands, as well as its four largest moons, discovered by Galileo Galilei, the great Italian astronomer and physicist, in 1609.
Although they appear as mere pinpoints of light, each is a world unto itself.
Ganymede, the largest satellite in our solar system, is actually a bit larger than the planet Mercury.
Io has dozens of active volcanoes, which regularly spew sulfuric lava across the satellite’s surface.
Callisto is an icy world, scarred by billions of years of meteor impacts.
And Europa holds a liquid ocean beneath its frozen crust. Who knows what bizarre creatures may swim through the ebony seas of this strange and remote little world?
Meteors
Astronomers expect the annual Leonid meteor shower to peak around 2 a.m. Nov. 17. Although this year’s Leonids won’t be nearly as numerous as they were during the great meteor storms of the late ’90s, observers in the United States may still spot a couple of dozen meteors an hour.
To improve your chances, try to observe from a site well away from street lights and other sources of light pollution.
Leonids may appear in any part of the sky, but seem to radiate out of the constellation Leo, which is in the east before sunrise.
Moon and planets
Look for Venus to the left of the crescent moon low in the southeastern sky about 30 minutes before sunrise on Nov. 15.
Venus drops lower and lower in the predawn sky throughout November, and becomes rather difficult to spot by the end of the month.
Spaceflight anniversary
Gemini XII, the final flight of America’s two-man spacecraft, soared into orbit on Nov. 11, 1966. During its four-day mission, Jim Lovell (who later commanded the ill-fated Apollo 13 flight) and Buzz Aldrin (who served as lunar module pilot on Apollo 11 and became the second man to walk on the moon) proved that astronauts could work effectively during spacewalks, a skill vital for the success of the Apollo missions to the moon.
Meteor shower prompts 911 calls
FELTON – Numerous residents in Felton and elsewhere called authorities starting about 5:40 p.m. after a meteor shower sent streaks across the sky at sunset Saturday.
An emergency dispatcher said the Federal Aviation Administration confirmed the event as the annual Leonid meteor shower and said it could continue through the evening. The meteor shower did not cause any public safety hazards.
NASA astronomers had predicted the meteor shower, stemming from a comet, would be strong this fall following a similar showing last year, according to a report posted last December on NASA’s Web site. Activity is expected to heighten in coming days, peaking about 2 a.m. Nov. 17.
“On Nov. 17, 2009, we expect the Leonids to produce upwards of 500 meteors per hour,” Bill Cooke of the NASA Marshall Space Flight Center was quoted by the space agency. “That’s a very strong display.”
Strong Leonid meteor showers expected Nov. 17
New moon on Nov. 16 will help make fainter streaks more visible
Circle Nov. 17 on your calendar, for early that morning a moderate to possibly very strong showing of annual Leonid meteor shower is likely.
The very strong display will favor those living across most of central and eastern Asia. In this region, meteor rates might briefly rise to a few hundred per hour (the time frame for the most intense activity is anticipated sometime around 21:40 GMT).
A far more modest, but still potentially enjoyable display of a few dozen Leonid meteors per hour is expected to favor North America. In the United States and Canada, eastern observers will be particularly well-positioned for maximum activity, expected sometime between 3:30 and 5:30 a.m. EST, when the radiant of the Leonid shower will be well up in the dark southeastern sky.
A meteor shower’s radiant is the perspective point from which all the meteors would appear to originate if their paths were traced backward far enough. The higher the radiant is, the more meteors flash into view all over the sky (though meteors can appear anywhere in the sky, so focusing on the radiant is not necessary).The Leonid radiant is within the so-called “Sickle” of Leo; a backwards question-mark pattern of stars that outlines the head and mane of the constellation Leo, the Lion. Hence the meteors are known as “Leonids.”Not in the East? Don’t fret. Observers all across North America may experience a good Leonid show with “shooting stars” streaking across the sky every few minutes.
Also a big plus in 2009 is the lack of any interference from the moon. New moon is on Nov. 16, so skies will be dark for catching the fainter meteor streaks. And the first light of dawn will not break until shortly after 5 a.m. local time.Europe and Africa appear largely out of luck. This year’s first round of expected enhanced activity will happen chiefly during their daylight hours. The second, stronger outburst will occur during early evening, but that’s hours before Leo comes above the horizon. Europeans might try watching before sunrise on the morning of Nov. 17, but are not likely to see more than 10 or 15 Leonids per hour.
Cosmic garbage
It may not sound sexy, but simply put, the reason for this year’s anticipated good Leonid showing is due to cosmic garbage.
The Leonids are known to be made up of cosmic litter from a small — 2.2 mile — dusty comet discovered by two astronomers in the late 19th century and christened Tempel-Tuttle. The Leonid meteors are thought to be the dusty legacy of Comet Tempel-Tuttle because the dust is moving around the sun in virtually the same orbit as the comet.
As the Earth encounters the debris left behind by the comet’s previous passes through our orbit, these tiny fragments of the comet — typically no bigger than a sand grain or the occasional pea — impact our atmosphere at speeds of up to 45 miles per second, causing them to blaze briefly but brightly in the night sky.
The Leonids are not a one-night stand. The dust from Tempel-Tuttle spangles the sky for a few nights every year in mid-November. This year, the peak is expected during the predawn hours of Nov. 17, but early-morning hours on the dates surrounding Nov. 17 could provide a decent show, too.Tempel-Tuttle last passed near the sun and Earth more than a decade ago (in 1998) and for several years thereafter the Leonids put on some spectacular displays, producing many hundreds – even thousands of meteors per hour. But with the departed comet now cruising through the outer part of the solar system, we typically would not expect to see more than 8 or 10 Leonids during an hour’s watch.
Yet if several meteor scientists are correct, this year will be atypical. The researchers have produced various models of the Leonid stream and all of them are indicating that the Earth will intersect a few “rivers of rubble” left behind by Comet Tempel-Tuttle.
Asian forecast
In particular, French astronomer, Jeremie Vaubaillon, Russian astronomer, Mikhail Maslov and Americans Bill Cooke and Danielle Moser of NASA’s Meteoroid Environment Office are all in agreement that material that was ejected from the comet’s nucleus during the years 1466 and 1533 will likely produce a very strong meteor display over much of Asia.”The year 2009 will not see a Leonid storm, but an outburst for sure,” Vaubaillon said, adding that “there are still some uncertainties.”
Last year, the material that was shed by the comet back in 1466 produced about 100 Leonids per hour.
This year, Earth will cross through the 1466 stream again, but this time much closer — 42,000 miles — to the center on Nov. 17 at around 21:40 GMT. This time favors central and eastern Asia (and it comes during daylight in North America). In addition, at about this same time, the Earth will also be passing through dust ejected by the comet in 1533. The consensus forecast among the astronomers for this year suggests anywhere from 130 to perhaps 300 Leonids per hour in Asia, but this spread has been calibrated chiefly using last year’s Earth interaction solely with the 1466 stream.
“But nothing is known (about) the 1533 stream,” Vaubaillon said.
North America forecast
About 12 to 14 hours before the main event, Earth is forecast to sideswipe a stream of dust that was loosed from the nucleus of Comet Tempel-Tuttle in the year 1567, passing to within 188,000 miles of the stream’s center. This interaction could provide modest activity for North Americans.
The best guesstimate is for perhaps 25 to 30 Leonids per hour, which would most likely target a time frame sometime between roughly 3:30 and 5:30 a.m. ET (12:30 to 2:30 a.m. PT).
For North American observers, the emphasis might be on quality, not quantity; for while the numbers might not be exceptionally high as compared to Asia, a few of these meteors, though visible for a just a fraction of a second, might leave bright trails of ionized atoms in their wake that hang in the sky for many seconds — or possibly even minutes — as these tiny dust particles streak through our atmosphere at altitudes of 80 to 100 miles.
And seeing even just one such outstandingly bright meteor like that can make a cold early morning vigil worthwhile.
Advance practice
If you want to get started early, you can practice for the big event.
The first Leonid forerunners might be sighted as early as Nov. 10, although overall activity will be rather low and spotty — perhaps only a few per hour at most. Around Nov. 16, in the predawn, Leonid activity will noticeably increase to perhaps four to eight per hour.
Observers on the lookout for early Leonids might also notice a number of rather slow moving meteors appearing to emanate from around the constellation of Taurus, the Bull (high in the southwest sky after midnight). These are the Taurid meteors and are most active between Nov. 5 and 12 when they can produce as many as five or 10 per hour.
Spectacular meteor shower forecast on Nov. 17
By Alcuin Papa
Philippine Daily Inquirer
First Posted 06:11:00 11/05/2009
Filed Under: Astronomy, Forecasts, Science (general)
MANILA, Philippines—Look up at the night sky on Nov. 17 and you may view a spectacular meteor shower, possibly even a meteor storm, meteorologists said.
Radiating from the constellation Leo, the Leonids meteor shower occurs annually at this time of the year when the Earth passes through streams of debris left behind by the Tempel-Tuttle comet centuries ago.
The Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA) said the Leonids is “one of the most prolific” meteor showers with its peak at about 11 p.m. on Nov. 17 to 6 a.m. on Nov. 18.
The Leonids generally begin on Nov. 13 and end on Nov. 21.
“If the skies are clear, we will have a maximum of 100 meteors per hour,” said Renato de Leon of Pagasa’s Observatory. “The Leonids is considered one of the most spectacular meteor showers. It would be exciting to watch and we are hoping for clear skies.”
The US National Aeronautical Space Agency (NASA), on the other hand, predicted the showers could reach 500 meteors per hour, making the 2009 Leonid showers a “half-storm.”
A meteor storm is defined as 1,000 or more meteors per hour.
“On Nov. 17, 2009, we expect the Leonids to produce upwards of 500 meteors per hour,” said Bill Cooke of NASA last year. “That’s a very strong display.”
Leonid meteor shower coming in mid-November
The Leonid meteor shower is expected to peak just before dawn on November 18, 2009. Starting in the evening on November 17 and continuing to approximately 8:00 AM on November 18, the meteor shower will be in its most active phase. Scientists predict that large shooting stars will streak across the sky every few minutes at the height of the shower, to take place between 12:30 and 2:30 AM in California.
Because the new moon occurs on November 16th, the sky will be quite dark for the Leonid, making the shower storms more visible to the naked eye and making it possible to see lighter streaks more clearly. Shooting stars will be visible until dawn, at about 5:00 AM.
The Leonid meteors are thought to originate from a 2.2-mile comet discovered in the late 1800s and named Tempel-Tuttle. The Leonids are likely dust dropped by Tempel-Tuttle. As this dust, or tiny pieces of Tempel-Tuttle the size of a grain of sand, hit the earth’s atmosphere, they flare brightly and appear to us as “shooting stars.”
Although the peak of the Leonid meteor shower is on November 17-18, it extends for several days in both directions of these dates. Look at the night sky in the pre-dawn hours on days before and after the peak for increased meteor activity. Although the Leonids put on a display every year, scientists predict more activity than usual in 2009, with perhaps as many as 30 shooting stars per hour during the peak 2 hours on Thursday night. Scientists also predict that the quality of the meteor display will be outstanding, with many Leonids blazing a trail for more than a minute and hanging in the sky.
For extra-special watching around the San Francisco Bay Area, try going up Mt. Tam or over to the East Bay to Tilden Park to watch from Inspiration Point on Wildcat Canyon Road.
The Chabot Space and Science Center in Oakland offers free viewing with their telescopes on Friday and Saturday nights from 7:30 to 10:30 (weather permitting). Although the Leonids will be at their best on a Tuesday, they will also be lighting up the sky to a lesser extent on the previous and following weekends, which might be a good time to visit Chabot.
