Brilliant Meteor Shower Expected Sunday

Nov. 16, 2001 -- Early Sunday morning, gaze at a dark patch of the pre-dawn sky and prepare to be wowed.

Astronomers are predicting this year's Leonid meteor shower could be the best in decades and the best for years to come. Even city dwellers who wake before dawn and find a swathe of sky away from city lights could catch the show, since the shooting stars are expected to be so abundant.

At its peak hour at 5 a.m. ET, the meteors could be streaming down at a rate of 70 a minute, or 4,200 an hour, says Peter Jenniskens of the SETI Institute and NASA Ames' Research Center.

Satellites, Space Station Could Be Nicked

Since the meteorites range in size from dust grains to small pebbles, they'll likely burn up completely before reaching Earth and pose no threat to people or Earth-bound objects. Satellites and the space station, however, stand a small chance of getting pelted and slightly damaged.

The meteor shower, named after the constellation Leo, from which the meteors appear to originate, is expected to be visible from all parts of North America, although Jenniskens believes those in the Northeast will have the best view.

"This could be the last opportunity for watching an impressive meteor storm in a dark sky for decades to come," said Donald Yeomans, head of NASA's Near Earth Object program office at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif.

Next year's Leonids could have been impressive, but they're scheduled to occur during a full moon, which will obscure their brilliance.

Some Predict More Modest Show

Although Yeomans, Jenniskens and other astronomers agree this year's Leonids show looks to be spectacular, other predictions are less grand.

For example, Robert Cooke of NASA Ames' Research Center believes the meteor shower will provide an average display of about one every 10 seconds in the United States.

"It's sort of like talking to weathermen," said Cooke, who is now in Hawaii, since his calculations show the best display will appear above that state. "You get a different answer from each one."