Early morning meteor shower expected Sunday

Friday, Nov. 16, 2001 | 9:39 a.m.

Southern Nevadans are used to bright lights. But the splendor of those on the Strip could pale Sunday in comparison to the annual Leonids meteor shower.

The best chance for residents to view the show is about 2 a.m. Sunday, said astronomer Dale Etheridge of the planetarium at the Community College of Southern Nevada.

Meteor showers occur when chunks of space debris form a cloud. As the Earth's atmosphere crosses the cloud, it creates a series of "shooting stars." The cloud forming the Leonid shower is part of the constellation Leo, or Lion. The particles will strike Earth's atmosphere at 155,000 mph, then burn and disintegrate.

He said people hoping to see the show should look directly overhead. Since this is a narrow band of meteors, the show could last about an hour.

Good viewing sites include the north shore of Lake Mead near Echo Bay, the Valley of Fire or U.S. 95 north of Indian Springs.

Plan to arrive at a watch site by midnight to 1 a.m. at the latest, Etheridge advised. He said the best views will occur at least 30 miles outside the city.

Patience is a key, he said.

"This shower has been very fickle in the past," Etheridge says to those anticipating the starlight streaming from the constellation.

"There is no way to be absolutely sure as to the number of meteors," he said. "I will be happy if we get at least one a minute, but it could be as good as one a second."

Watchers plan to gather in a parking lot just east of Nelson's Landing, about an hour's drive south of Las Vegas on the road to Searchlight. Also, KLAV-AM 1230 disc jockey Peter Shields plans to set up a watch at the Cal Nev Ari airstrip, 60 miles south on U.S. 95 from Las Vegas.