<p>Meteoroids are the smallest bodies in the solar system that can be observed by the eye and yet, they can be the brightest objects in the night sky. <br /><br /></p>.<p>Wandering through space, perhaps as debris left behind by a comet, meteoroids, sometimes called a ‘shooting star’, enter the Earth's atmosphere, get heated by friction and for a few seconds streak across the sky as a meteor with a glowing trail. <br /><br />A brilliant meteor, called a fireball, may weigh many kilogrammes, but even a meteor weighing less than a gram can produce a beautiful trail. Some of these visitors are large enough to survive their trip through the atmosphere and hit the ground as meteorites. Fireballs are sometimes followed by trails of light that last up to 30 minutes; some, called bolides, explode with a loud thunderous sound.<br /><br />From November 15 to 18, one can see the mesmerising Leonid meteor showers light up the night sky. This shower will probably peak on November 17 at 11.30 pm IST. The Leonid meteors are produced by debris from the ‘Temple-Tuttle-55’ comet. This particular meteor shower is known for its variable activity. Historically, the Leonid are known to be active from November 14 to 21. <br /><br />The annual meteor shower known as the Leonid happens every November and is one of the most famous of all meteor showers. A nearly full moon is likely to wipe out much of our view of the peak of the shower this year.<br /><br />On the 17th, in the still, silent hours before dawn, passionate meteor watchers will keep vigil and in the cold, early morning darkness, the sky will glimmer with a preview of early spring constellations. Leading them, up in the east, is Leo. Its familiar Sickle asterism, a backwards question mark, seems meaningful especially during these nights, for, on the cutting edge of the Sickle’s curved hook, is the emanation point of the greatest of all showers – the Leonid.<br /><br />The Leonid meteors, at their peak, are capable of producing a spectacular display of celestial fireworks. For about an hour or so, the heavens seem to burst open and pour forth a deluge of shooting stars. The Leonids are the swiftest of all showers at 44 miles per second – almost the highest theoretical speed for meteors belonging to the solar system – because their orbit runs nearly head-on to the Earth’s. No Leonid has been known to escape entire vapourisation and reach the ground as a meteorite. Many are bright, some are greenish or bluish fireballs and about two out of three leave trains, which can sometimes last for five minutes or more.<br /><br />The source of the Leonid was first identified in 1866 by Italian astronomer Giovanni Virginio Schiaparelli. Other experts in Celestial Mechanics, notably Urbain Jean LeVerrier and Theodore von Oppolzer, independently spotted a striking resemblance of the orbit of the Leonid to that of the then newly discovered comet ‘Temple-Tuttle’. This comet appears to orbit the sun at intervals of roughly 33 years. Today, even though not all prominent meteor showers have been matched to known comets, the relationship is clear: meteor streams are the debris of crumbling comets.<br /><br />The Leonid are famous because their meteor showers, or storms, can be, and have been in a few cases, among the most spectacular ones seen. Because of the superlative storm of 1833 and the recent developments in scientific thought, the Leonid have had a major effect on the development of the scientific study of meteors which had previously been thought to be atmospheric phenomena.<br /><br />As per one estimate of the storm of 1833, there were over 1,00,000 meteors an hour, but another, done as the storm abated, estimated in excess of 2,00,000 meteors an hour over the entire region of North America, east of the Rocky Mountains.<br /><br />The shower has a peak every 33 years and can put on some very spectacular performances such as the one in 2001 with well over 300 meteors per hour.<br />Leonid activities are tracked very well with the use of meteor particles evolution modeling. Particles ejected by the comet form lengthy trails. One of the reasons is radiation pressure force, which acts parallel to gravitational forces.<br /><br />Gravitational force is dependent on a particle mass, i.e. it is proportional to the third power of particle radius. The radiation pressure is defined by the second power of particle radius.<br /><br />The spectator stands agape – mind numbed, eyes dazzled and soul thrilled by the sight of shooting stars appearing by the hundreds, perhaps even thousands per hour. Every year, as noted above, a scattered few Leonid meteors can be seen.<br /><br />The shower can be clearly seen through the naked eye from anywhere – a hilltop, secluded locations, roof top or far off place free from city lights – between 7 pm and 5.30 am from November 14 to 21. Observatories serve the purpose of witnessing such heavenly marvels.</p>
<p>Meteoroids are the smallest bodies in the solar system that can be observed by the eye and yet, they can be the brightest objects in the night sky. <br /><br /></p>.<p>Wandering through space, perhaps as debris left behind by a comet, meteoroids, sometimes called a ‘shooting star’, enter the Earth's atmosphere, get heated by friction and for a few seconds streak across the sky as a meteor with a glowing trail. <br /><br />A brilliant meteor, called a fireball, may weigh many kilogrammes, but even a meteor weighing less than a gram can produce a beautiful trail. Some of these visitors are large enough to survive their trip through the atmosphere and hit the ground as meteorites. Fireballs are sometimes followed by trails of light that last up to 30 minutes; some, called bolides, explode with a loud thunderous sound.<br /><br />From November 15 to 18, one can see the mesmerising Leonid meteor showers light up the night sky. This shower will probably peak on November 17 at 11.30 pm IST. The Leonid meteors are produced by debris from the ‘Temple-Tuttle-55’ comet. This particular meteor shower is known for its variable activity. Historically, the Leonid are known to be active from November 14 to 21. <br /><br />The annual meteor shower known as the Leonid happens every November and is one of the most famous of all meteor showers. A nearly full moon is likely to wipe out much of our view of the peak of the shower this year.<br /><br />On the 17th, in the still, silent hours before dawn, passionate meteor watchers will keep vigil and in the cold, early morning darkness, the sky will glimmer with a preview of early spring constellations. Leading them, up in the east, is Leo. Its familiar Sickle asterism, a backwards question mark, seems meaningful especially during these nights, for, on the cutting edge of the Sickle’s curved hook, is the emanation point of the greatest of all showers – the Leonid.<br /><br />The Leonid meteors, at their peak, are capable of producing a spectacular display of celestial fireworks. For about an hour or so, the heavens seem to burst open and pour forth a deluge of shooting stars. The Leonids are the swiftest of all showers at 44 miles per second – almost the highest theoretical speed for meteors belonging to the solar system – because their orbit runs nearly head-on to the Earth’s. No Leonid has been known to escape entire vapourisation and reach the ground as a meteorite. Many are bright, some are greenish or bluish fireballs and about two out of three leave trains, which can sometimes last for five minutes or more.<br /><br />The source of the Leonid was first identified in 1866 by Italian astronomer Giovanni Virginio Schiaparelli. Other experts in Celestial Mechanics, notably Urbain Jean LeVerrier and Theodore von Oppolzer, independently spotted a striking resemblance of the orbit of the Leonid to that of the then newly discovered comet ‘Temple-Tuttle’. This comet appears to orbit the sun at intervals of roughly 33 years. Today, even though not all prominent meteor showers have been matched to known comets, the relationship is clear: meteor streams are the debris of crumbling comets.<br /><br />The Leonid are famous because their meteor showers, or storms, can be, and have been in a few cases, among the most spectacular ones seen. Because of the superlative storm of 1833 and the recent developments in scientific thought, the Leonid have had a major effect on the development of the scientific study of meteors which had previously been thought to be atmospheric phenomena.<br /><br />As per one estimate of the storm of 1833, there were over 1,00,000 meteors an hour, but another, done as the storm abated, estimated in excess of 2,00,000 meteors an hour over the entire region of North America, east of the Rocky Mountains.<br /><br />The shower has a peak every 33 years and can put on some very spectacular performances such as the one in 2001 with well over 300 meteors per hour.<br />Leonid activities are tracked very well with the use of meteor particles evolution modeling. Particles ejected by the comet form lengthy trails. One of the reasons is radiation pressure force, which acts parallel to gravitational forces.<br /><br />Gravitational force is dependent on a particle mass, i.e. it is proportional to the third power of particle radius. The radiation pressure is defined by the second power of particle radius.<br /><br />The spectator stands agape – mind numbed, eyes dazzled and soul thrilled by the sight of shooting stars appearing by the hundreds, perhaps even thousands per hour. Every year, as noted above, a scattered few Leonid meteors can be seen.<br /><br />The shower can be clearly seen through the naked eye from anywhere – a hilltop, secluded locations, roof top or far off place free from city lights – between 7 pm and 5.30 am from November 14 to 21. Observatories serve the purpose of witnessing such heavenly marvels.</p>
