Upcoming meteor shower illuminated

Professor explains meteor dynamics

In preparation for the meteor showers taking place tonight and tomorrow, a physics professor spoke on meteors and comets Friday night in Miller Hall.

"Literally the whole sky will be lit up with falling stars," Associate Physics Professor William Alexander told the 60 planetarium attendees during his two 60-minute presentations. "You might see flashes of light, or streaks of light, all originating from the same point. We might be seeing anywhere between 70 and 100 per minute."

Tonight and tomorrow's storm, referred to as the Leonids meteor shower, is composed of the debris left by the Comet 55/Tempel-Tuttle when it passed through Earth's orbit first in 1767 and later in 1866, according to Alexander. He said it likely will be the strongest meteor storm since 1966, when the Earth passed through the trail left by the comet.

"Monday night the Earth will pass through the trail from 1767," he said, "and Tuesday night the trail from 1866. Because of the way that the Earth is positioned, Europe will get the show on Monday and the eastern part of North America will witness it on Tuesday."

For best viewing, Alexander said he recommends that students go outside at about 4:30 a.m. Tuesday and look east. If one is facing Wilson Hall on the Quad, he said, east is in the direction of Warren Hall.

The comet completes its elliptical orbit every 33.2 years,Alexander said, passing through the Earth's orbit on the way. The gravitational pull of the Earth's orbit traps the comet's tail, leaving chunks of frozen material, usually some composition of water, ammonia and carbon, which many scientists liken to a "dirty snowball," according to Alexander.

William Tempel and Horace Tuttle each independently discovered the comet in 1865 and 1866, respectively, Alexander said. They derived the comet's orbit and with that information were able to show that the Leonids meteor shower, which occurs every year in late November, was linked directly to the comet.