The Leonid Meteor Storm of 2002
Every
November, like clock work, The Leonid Meteor shower arrives. This year
will be no exception. However, things will be a little bit different this
year. The Leonids typically peak at around 15-20 meteors per hour; this is
referred to as a meteor shower. However, astronomers are expecting a much
more spectacular event this year. Depending on where you live and whose
numbers you believe, peak
estimates range from 2000-6000 meteors per hour! This level of activity is
referred to as a meteor storm. A meteor storm is defined as an event where
1000 or more meteors an hour can be seen. Leonid
meteor showers happen when Earth passes through clouds of dusty debris
shed by comet 55P/Tempel-Tuttle when it comes close to the Sun every 33
years. This year our planet is heading for close encounters with two such
clouds. The first, arriving at 2002 Nov. 19 @ 3:48-4:04 UT,
will favor viewers in Europe. The second, arriving at 2002 Nov. 19 @ 10:20-10:40
UT,
should be ideal from North American viewers. (10:20UT equates to 3:20 MST)
The only drawback in the schedule is that this year's event occurs
on the day of the full moon. This will definitely weed out some of the
lesser meteors. But... since the Leonids won't actually peak until the wee
hours of the morning, the moon will be well to the west... some 100° away
from the radiant. And, given that there are no Leonid storms forecast for
the next 50 years or so, this could be the only chance many of us have to
see such an event. Let's keep our fingers crossed.
Here are a few tips for
viewing this special event.
Dress
warmly. It is fall, and unless you live far to the south, it
will get chilly. In many locations, it's even advisable to crawl
inside a sleeping bag.- Turn
off all lights, or if necessary, travel to a dark location.
Light pollution can seriously impact your viewing activities.
- Use
a reclining chair or hammock. Since the event will take place
overhead, you’ll want to relieve neck strain by lying on your
back.
- Find a location with a good view to the southeast. The Leonids appear to emanate from the constellation Leo which will be in the southeast early in the morning. Also, since the moon will be in the west, anything you can put between you and the moon will help you to spy some of the fainter meteors.
- Keep
a count. Set a timer to go off every 10 minutes or so. You can
then use this to gauge the rate at which meteors are being
observed.
The accompanying image shows a Perseid Fireball and was taken by S. Kohle & B. Koch
Here are a few tips for photographing this special event.
- Pick a section of the sky. You'll get the longest meteor trails if you aim about 60° away from the radiant.
- Put your camera on a tripod and set the shutter speed to "Bulb" mode.
- Use a shutter release cable. This will keep your images steady.
- Take some long duration pictures. If you don't want star trails, keep your exposures to no longer than about 15 seconds with a 50mm lens. If you do want star trails (they can look pretty cool), open the shutter for a few minutes. The accompanying image shows some star trailing, and looks pretty sweet. If a fireball happens to go through your field of view, immediately end that exposure.
- Use ASA400 speed film or faster
- Use
a relatively wide angle lens... Zoom lenses will reduce the
number of meteors photographed. On the other hand, if you do
catch one, it could look awesome
- Got a video camera? Mount it on a tripod and see what you get.
Checkout this awesome 1998 Leonid Fireball captured by Jurgen Rendtel. The photo was taken with a fish-eye lens on Ilford Delta 400 film. The exposure time was 10 minutes. The maximum brightness of the fireballs was about -8. This is almost as bright as the full moon!
