Do-it-yourself Leonids

You don't have to be a rocket scientist to observe the 1999 Leonid meteor shower, but you can help out scientists by sending your observations to NASA.

November 11, 1999: In 1833 people in eastern North America were roused from their beds before dawn by bright flashes of light and cries of alarm. The sky was falling! At least that's what many observers thought. For several hours the skies were illuminated by thousands of shooting stars.

This amazing display was caused by debris from comet Tempel-Tuttle which had recently returned to the inner solar system during its 33 year journey around the Sun. The 1833 storm marked the discovery of the annual Leonids meteor shower and is widely regarded as the birth of modern meteor astronomy.

Right: In the early morning hours of November 17, 1998, a meteor from the Leonids shower blew apart over the high New Mexico desert, putting on a dramatic thirty-minute show that was recorded by the electronic cameras of the Robotic Optical Transient Search Experiment (ROTSE) telescope in Los Alamos. [more info & animations]

Parents and Educators: Please visit Thursday's Classroom for lesson plans and activities related to this story.

For the past 166 years astronomers and meteor enthusiasts have carefully monitored the Leonids. Special attention is always given to the years just after Tempel-Tuttle returns to the inner solar system on its 33-year orbit around the sun. That's when meteor storms featuring thousands or even hundreds of thousands of shooting stars per hour can happen. Since 1833 there have been spectacular Leonid storms in 1866 and 1966, as well as lesser but still dazzling showers in between.

You might think that astronomers would know just about everything about the Leonids. After all, we've been studying these meteors for nearly 200 years. Not so. The Leonids continue to present sky watchers with surprises and to confound forecasters with the temerity to predict when Leonid storms will occur and how intense they will be. In 1998, for instance, a strong Leonids shower was expected around 1900 UT on November 17 over eastern Asia. Instead, there was a flurry of bright fireballs that arrived 14 - 16 hours ahead of schedule. Scientists who later analyzed the data concluded that there was probably a clump of meteoroids ejected from comet Tempel-Tuttle in 1333 that crossed Earth's path in 1998. No one knew it existed until the fireball display was over.

Do-it-yourself Leonids

Global observations of the Leonid meteor shower are important to astronomers who are trying to understand the detailed structure and dynamics of cometary debris streams. Meteor counts obtained as the Earth slices through the Leonid stream offer researchers a rare snapshot of its cross-section. With enough data, it may one day be possible to accurately forecast the times of Leonid meteor showers and their intensity. Star gazers aren't the only ones who would like to know when meteor showers will happen. Satellite operators are very interested in advance warnings of potentially hazardous space weather like a Leonids meteoroid storm.

It may sound like rocket science, but anyone can count Leonid meteors and contribute to this research. All you need is a good watch, a notepad or tape recorder, and the fortitude to brave a chilly, sleepless November night in the service of science. Data collected and submitted by our readers will be featured in a series of Science@NASA headlines news articles following the Leonids meteor shower. The best data sets will also be combined with professional observations for a scientific study of the Leonids meteoroid stream.

For more information about how to view the Leonids and submitting data to NASA, click here.

Web Links

Leonids Live! -site of the live webcast of the 1999 Leonids

North American Meteor Network - home page

Related Stories:
Leonids on the Moon -- Nov 3, 1999. Leonid meteorite impacts on the Moon might be visible from Earth and provide a means for long-distance lunar prospecting.

NASA Meteor Balloon Rises Again -- Nov 1, 1999. NASA scientists are planning to launch a weather balloon into the stratosphere on November 18 to capture a recording of the Leonids meteor shower from 100,000 ft.

Leonids in the Crystal Ball -- Oct 27, 1999. Is 1999 the year for a Leonids meteor storm? Experts make their predictions.

Pop! Ping! Perseids! -- Aug 13, 1999. The Science@NASA meteor balloon popped before reaching the stratosphere but many meteor enthusiasts still saw and heard the Perseid shower.

Perseids Live! Balloon Flight Planned -- Aug 6, 1999. A NASA weather balloon will ascend to the stratosphere for a live webcast of the 1999 Perseids.

The Leonid Meteor Outburst of 1997 -- July 16, 1999.Newly released video shows a flurry of Leonids in 1997 that briefly rivaled the great meteor storm of 1966.

Tuning in to April meteor showers -- Apr. 27, 1999. Amateur astronomers capture radio echoes from fiery meteors in April 99.

April's Lyrid meteor shower -- Apr. 21, 1999. The oldest known meteor shower peaks this year on April 22.

A Wild Ride to the Stratosphere in Search of Meteors -- Apr. 14, 1999. The payload from the NASA Meteor Balloon has been recovered.

Meteor Balloon set for Launch -- Apr. 9, 1999. NASA scientists prepare to launch a weather balloon designed to capture micrometeoroids in the stratosphere.

Leonid Sample Return Update -- Apr. 1, 1999. Scientists will describe initial results from a program to catch meteoroids in flight at the NASA/Ames Leonids Workshop April 12-15, 1999.

The Ghost of Fireballs Past -- Dec. 22, 1998. RADAR echoes from Leonid and Geminid meteors.

Bunches & Bunches of Geminids -- Dec. 15, 1998. The Geminids continued to intensify in 1998

The 1998 Leonids: A bust or a blast? -- Nov. 27, 1998. New images of Leonid fireballs and their smoky remnants.

Leonids Sample Return payload recovered! -- Nov. 23, 1998. Scientists are scanning the "comet catcher" for signs of Leonid meteoroids.

Early birds catch the Leonids -- Nov. 19, 1998. The peak of the Leonid meteor shower happened more than 14 hours earlier than experts had predicted.

A high-altitude look at the Leonids -- Nov. 18, 1998. NASA science balloon catches video of 8 fireballs.

The Leonid Sample Return Mission -- Nov. 16, 1998. NASA scientists hope to capture a Leonid meteoroid and return it to Earth.

Great Expectations: the 1998 Leonid meteor shower -- Nov. 10, 1998. The basics of what the Leonids are and what might happen on November 17.

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Dr. John M. Horack , Director of Science Communications Author: Dr. Tony Phillips
Curator: Bryan Walls
NASA Official: M. Frank Rose