Leonid shower expected to be best of the century

Friday, Nov. 15, 2002 | 10:47 a.m.

Light show

WHAT: The Las Vegas Astronomical Society will host a star party to view the Leonid meteors.

WHEN: Late Monday night into Tuesday morning.

WHERE: Echo Bay Marina Airstrip. Take Lake Mead Boulevard east until it ends, about 17 miles east of Interstate 15. Turn left and go north about 32 miles. Turn to the right to the Echo Bay marina. After about a mile, turn right on a dirt road with a small sign with an airplane on it.

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Source: David Goldwater, Community College of Southern Nevada.

Astronomers say that this year's mid-November Leonid meteor shower may turn into a storm of shooting stars and put on one of the best sky shows this century.

"I expect the Leonids to potentially be the event of a lifetime and experiencing it will be very simple," Robert Braddy, president of the Las Vegas Astronomical Society, said.

Stargazers don't need a telescope or binoculars for the Leonids, only patience and a pair of eyes, he said.

Experts have predicted as many as 10,000 meteors per hour.

The shower occurs when Earth passes through the tail of the comet Temple-Tuttle, not once, but twice.

A typical meteor shower, Braddy said, produces about 100 meteors an hour. A meteor storm can send 500 to 1,000 streaks an hour.

"Comets are often called dirty snowballs because they are made up of frozen carbon dioxide and water and small particles of dirt or small rocks," Braddy said. The fiery streaks are those particles striking Earth's atmosphere and burning up.

This year is unique, Braddy said, because there will be two peak times for people to see star dust.

In Las Vegas the first part of the storm should occur about 8 p.m. Monday, although European observers and East Coast gazers will have the best view.

Six hours later, between 2 a.m. and 3 a.m. on Tuesday, the rest of the show arrives and will appear to stream from the constellation Leo -- for which the shower is named.

Temple-Tuttle orbits the Sun every 33 years and when it gets closest, the Sun's heat adds more dusty debris to the comet's icy trail. The early peak is caused by a dust stream left from Temple-Tuttle's orbit in 1767. The second peak is caused from dust particles packed closer together, which should create more meteors.

Nothing is ever perfect for meteor showers, experts say. If Southern Nevada's skies are cloudy, there won't be much to see.

Competing with the early meteor show will be an eclipse of the moon.

"The lunar eclipse will not be much," said astronomer Dale Etheridge of the Community College of Southern Nevada. The outer part of Earth's shadow, the penumbra, will cross the moon about 5:45 p.m., dimming the upper edge of the lunar landscape for a moment. "Most people will never notice," he said.

The later meteor storm, however, will be competing with a full moon, Etheridge said. Fainter shooting stars will not be visible.

"However, Leonid storms tend to have a relatively large number of bright meteors," Etheridge said. "Being away from the city will help some since the city lights brighten the sky of an amount similar to the full moon."

The Las Vegas Astronomical Society will view the Leonids at the Echo Bay Airstrip late on Monday night into Tuesday morning, David Goldwater, astronomy professor at the Community College of Southern Nevada, said.

To reach the society's viewing site, take Lake Mead Boulevard east until it ends, about 17 miles east of Interstate 15. Turn left and go north about 32 miles. There is a turnoff to the right to the Echo Bay Marina. After another mile a sign on the right side of the road with an airplane on it leads to a dirt road where cars and telescopes will be lined up on the airstrip, Goldwater said.

Whether joining the Astronomical Society's star party or peering into the night sky from the backyard, Goldwater advises viewers to dress warmly.

"Most astronomers feel that this is the last chance to see Leonid storm for another 32 years," Goldwater said.