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Space

Meteor shower promises dramatic celestial show

Meteor shower
The Leonid meteor shower has been recorded in literature since 909 A.D.  
RELATED VIDEO
CNN's Ann Kellan on the Leonid meteor shower
Windows Media 28K 56K
November 15, 1998
Web posted at: 11:12 p.m. EST (0412 GMT)

(CNN) -- Our planet will witness a spectacular light show this week, thanks to an encounter with a trail of dust from the Tempel-Tuttle comet.

Every November, the Earth passes through some part of Tempel-Tuttle's long trail of debris as the comet makes its 33-year-long orbit of the sun.

This year is special because the Earth will plows straight through the comet's wake as it traces its own path around the wun, and the planet's strong gravitational force grabs the particles. The trail of debris will be fresh and concentrated with tiny meteoroids that will hit the atmosphere and explode into shooting stars.

Those particles, no bigger than a grain of sand, will be traveling at a speed of 45 miles a second. Because they will burn up while putting on their light show, no meteors are expected to hit the Earth.

This heavenly light show has been recorded in literature since 909 A.D., and it can be found portrayed in paintings dating back to 1833.

"You can imagine what effect this would have had in earlier periods of the 19th century, or all that way back in history when people did not realize what it was," marveled Steven Dick of the U.S. Naval Observatory.

Early morning viewing

satellite
Many satellites are at risk of small meteor collisions  

People in Australia and Asia should have the best seats for the show, because it will be night there when the meteor storm is at its peak.

But if the weather cooperates and keeps the skies clear, people all over the world may be able to see at least one shooting star a minute between the hours of 3 and 6 a.m. Tuesday.

While its atmosphere will shield Earth from the flying debris, satellites orbiting the planet may be vulnerable. Some 600 are currently providing everything from cell phone and pager service to air traffic information.

"I don't believe anyone feels there's a high probability that anyone's going to lose a satellite," said Steve Stott of INTELLSAT. "The concern is more ... the possibility there might be an upset in service, even if it's for a very short period of time."

Even though meteors have hit orbiting spacecraft before, scientists are less worried about collision damage and more worried about the electric charge the particles could create when they hit a satellite. That energy could wreak havoc with the instruments onboard a satellite.

Scientists will monitor the Leonid meteor shower with radar and video cameras in hopes of better predicting future storms.

And to study exactly what's in that cosmic dust left behind by Tempel-Tuttle, NASA will fly two aircraft at 35,000 feet above Earth to get a closer look.

Correspondent Ann Kellan contributed to this report.

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