THE SKY THIS MONTH: METEOR STORM EXPECTED TO PUT ON A SHOW

It happened 33 years ago on the clear, cold, dark morning of November 17, 1966. Just an hour before the sun came up. 150,000 meteors per hour rained down on the middle of North America! The Earth had just passed through the debris trail of comet 55P/Tempel-Tuttle. Unlike older comets whose debris trail had spread out around their orbit, comet 55P had just passed Earth's orbit a year before and the debris were bunched up in a narrow ribbon of material. The geometry was just right and many of the inhabitants on Earth got to watch the grand spectacle.

But not me! My dear friend had seen them but neglected to give me a call. So what if it were 4:00 a.m. in the morning! Comet Tempel-Tuttle has an orbital period of about 33 years. Every year, Earth passes through its orbit giving us the Leonid meteor shower. But when the geometry gets just right, we get a meteor storm.

On November 13, 1833 it was reported that stars descended like snow. On November 5, 1601 it was reported stars became like rain. While meteor forecasting is even trickier than weather forecasting, most experts agree that we on Earth are due for a grand show this year.

On the night of November 17/18, put on your long underwear, get out the sleeping bag, and head out for dark country. The moon will set about 1 a.m. so you shouldn't start looking until then. The true storm should only last for a few hours, but you might still see a good shower even if you miss the peak a little bit. The real question is when and where the peak will occur. Currently, experts predict the peak will occur over the Atlantic ocean and western Europe. But, experts could easily be off a few hours and then we could get a real show.

If you have a 35 mm camera which has a bulb on its time setting, you can take a picture of the meteor storm. Simply open the lens all the way, place the camera on a tripod, point towards the sky overhead and open the shutter for about 15-20 minutes. If you want color pictures, use color slide film and have prints made afterwards for the ones that turned out well.

Jupiter dominates the night sky in the East and will continue to do so for several more months. Saturn is not far behind and the pair put on their best performances of recent years. The calm, cool, clear nights of autumn make for excellent viewing. I have seen more moons, belts, rings, and giant red spot sightings this fall than I ever have. In the morning, the planet Venus is higher in the eastern sky than I have ever seen. It shines a steady light (as all the other planets do) because its size is much bigger than the turbulence in the atmosphere so a planet's light does not flicker like the stars. In the morning, the mighty constellation of Leo the Lion leaps out of the early twilight chasing Venus from the Sun.

At about 10 p.m. you can see the winter constellations of Taurus and Orion rising in the east. The Milky Way cuts almost directly east-west this time of year. Between now and early spring we are looking out of the plain of the Milky Way so that now is the best time to look for other galaxies. They are faint, fuzzy, blobby things that will need as big a telescope as you can find. The astronomy club meets the second Wednesday of the month in Rhodes Hall, 121 at 7p.m.

If you do happen to witness the meteor storm, call a friend. They will appreciate it.