"The Leonid meteor shower is peaking this week, potentially bringing hundreds of long-tailed meteors with it. This annual fall display is an excellent opportunity to spot fireballs in the night sky. Meteor showers are the beautiful result of Earth moving through the trail of debris streaming from comets and asteroids as they make their own way around the sun. As these chunks of space rock enter our atmosphere, they burn up as shooting stars. And if they land, they become meteorites."
"Perhaps the most famous Leonid display in modern memory took place on November 17, 1966, when meteors seemed to fall like rain and some witnesses said it felt as if Earth was plunging through space. These storms tend to follow a 33- to 34-year rhythm tied to the comet's orbit. Most years are quieter, however, which is the most likely outcome this week. The last major event occurred in 2002."
The Leonid meteor shower peaks in mid-November when Earth crosses the debris stream from Comet 55P/Tempel-Tuttle. Expect hundreds of long-tailed meteors traveling about 44 miles per second, with the peak nominally at 1 P.M. EST on November 17 and better visibility closer to dawn on November 18. Meteor showers occur as space debris burns in the atmosphere as shooting stars; fragments that survive become meteorites. The Leonids recur annually and follow a 33- to 34-year rhythm that can produce intense storms, with a famous outburst on November 17, 1966, and the last major event in 2002.
Read at www.scientificamerican.com
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