Skywatchers, ho! The Leonid meteor shower is now kicking off right above our heads. This often spectaculat shower results from the Earth’s passage through trails of particles left behind by comet Tempel-Tuttell. Tempel-Tuttle was itself discovered by two people independently, in 1865 and 1866.

In 1833 the Leonids were so powerful and active that some thought they were witnessing the end of the world! It appeared to rain stars in dark parts of the world (Image is a drawing from the time). As many as tens of thousands of shooting stars per hour (!) were seen in the area around the rocky Mountains in North America. This particularly strong storm was caused not by the 1833 passage of Tempel-Tuttle but by its passage in 1800. Interestingly, the men in white coats are able to determine where the path of particles lies for each of the comet’s trips around the Sun and thus tell you which comet’s tail you are witnessing as it falls into the Earth’s atmosphere.

This passage from Wikipedia detailsd some examples in a paragraph I find highly confusing: “For example spikes in activity in 2004 were associated with streams from passages of the Comet Tempel-Tuttle in 1333 and 1733 because the Earth passed through both paths, as altered by gravitational and radiative forces over the time inbetween while spikes in activity in 2001 were due in part to the passage of the comet in 1833. The 1833 storm itself was not due to the recent passage of the comet, but from a direct hit with the recent 1800 passage trail left behind and the 1966 storm was from the 1899 passage of the comet”

Hmmm. Well either way you’ll be happy to know that Jupiter is expecting to be shaking up the comet soon and this will produce much stronger meteor storms for decades to come.

The Leonids peak on November 17th so look up toward Leo in the Southern sky for what may be the best meteor shower of the year, given the Moon’s position and the dark skies.