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The meteor shower Leonid has been behind some of the most spectacular shooting stars in history. The dust that creates this shower comes from the comet Tempel-Tuttle that revolves around the sun every 33 years.
Author and poet Walt Whitman wrote about the following story told by Abraham Lincoln when he was speaking to a group of bank presidents. He was asked about the state of the Union, which was at the time in the depths of the civil war.
"When I was a young man in Illinois," he says, "I embarked for some time with a deacon from the Presbyterian Church. One night, I was woken up from my sleep by a knock on the door and I heard the voice of the deacon exclaiming "Arise, Abraham, the day of judgment has come!" I rushed out of bed and rushed to the window and I saw the stars falling in big showers! But looking back into the sky, I saw all the big and old constellations with which I was so familiar, frozen and In their place, gentlemen, the world did not end at that time any more than the Union now. "
"A reminiscence of Lincoln"
Days & Collect Specimen (1882)
It is thought that this refers to the Leonids in 1833. It is estimated that it was visible between 100,000 and 200,000 meteors per hour! Unfortunately, big screens like this are rare. The last one took place in 2002 and produced about 3,000 meteors an hour. The next big "meteor storm" is not expected until 2031.
The return of the comet Tempel-Tuttle every 33 years explains the sporadic nature of the Leonids. New trails of dust can lead to spectacular meteor storms. Since 2002, the number of meteors has decreased considerably. In fact, the activity over the last two years has been quite low.
This year, the Leonids should be pretty normal, producing between 15 and 20 meteors per hour, at best, under a dark sky. The peak of the shower is tonight around 18 hours, but the moonlight will prevent viewing during the evening hours. You must wait until the moon sets and the constellation of Leo is above the horizon. The best time to watch it will probably be between 1:30 pm and dawn tomorrow morning.
Do not forget that you do not need to deal with a particular direction. Even though the meteors will come from the constellation Leo, they can appear in any part of the sky.
Kevin D. Conod is the head of the planetarium and the astronomer of Dreyfuss Planetarium of Newark Museum. For updates on the night sky, call Newark Skyline at (973) 596-6529.
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