JAMES:
HEY THERE STAR GAZERS.

I'M JAMES ALBURY, DIRECTOR OF THE KIKA SILVA
PLA PLANETARIUM IN GAINESVILLE, FLORIDA.

DEAN:
AND I'M DEAN REGAS, ASTRONOMER FOR THE CINCINNATI

OBSERVATORY.

WE'RE HERE TO HELP YOU FIND YOUR WAY AROUND
THE SKY.

JAMES:
ON THE MORNINGS OF NOVEMBER 17TH

AND 18TH, FROM MIDNIGHT
TO DAWN,

WE MAY GET TO SEE THE ANNUAL LEONID
METEOR SHOWER.

DEAN:
AND THIS YEAR THE MOON IS GOING TO HELP

BY STAYING OUT
OF THE WAY.

LET'S SHOW YOU.

DEAN:
IF YOU'RE FAR FROM

CITY LIGHTS ON ANY CLEAR MOONLESS NIGHT YOU'RE
LIKELY TO SEE A FEW METEORS, IF YOU STAY OUT

LONG ENOUGH
AND.....

BOTH:
KEEP LOOKING UP.

DEAN:
WAIT, WAIT, WAIT....

THERE'S MORE.

JAMES:
METEORS HAVE LONG BEEN CALLED "SHOOTING STARS"

BECAUSE THAT'S WHAT THEY LOOK LIKE.

BUT THEYRE NOT REALLY STARS SHOOTING
ACROSS THE SKY.

JAMES:
IN FACT WHEN YOU SEE

A METEOR-- YOU ARE SEEING A TINY SPECK OF
SPACE DEBRIS, ANYWHERE FROM THE SIZE OF A

GRAIN
OF SAND-TO PEBBLE SIZED.

THEY SLAM INTO OUR EARTH'S ATMOSPHERE
AT SUCH HIGH SPEEDS THAT FRICTION WITH

THE GASSES IN OUR EARTH'S ATMOSPHERE CAUSES
THE AIR TO GLOW.

DEAN:
SO WHEN YOU SEE A "SHOOTING STAR"

YOU ARE ACTUALLY SEEING THE GAS ATOMS
IN OUR EARTH'S ATMOSPHERE GLOW ALL ALONG THE

PATH
THAT THE METEOR

HAS TRAVELED.

SO ON ANY CLEAR, DARK, MOONLESS NIGHT
YOU CAN SEE A HANDFUL OF METEORS IF YOU HAVE

A LOT OF PATIENCE.

JAMES:
BUT ABOUT 12 TIMES A YEAR, WE EXPERIENCE WHAT

WE CALL A
METEOR SHOWER.

AND EVERY NOVEMBER
WE HAVE THE LEONID METEOR SHOWER,

SO NAMED BECAUSE ITS METEORS APPEAR TO RADIATE
FROM THE CONSTELLATION

LEO THE LION.

JAMES:
METEOR SHOWERS ARE

A BIT DIFFERENT FROM THE METEORS YOU SEE EVERY
NIGHT

BECAUSE THE METEORS
IN A METEOR SHOWER

ARE PREDICTABLE AND ARE MADE UP OF
COMET DEBRIS.

DEAN:
YOU SEE, EVERY TIME

A COMET PASSES THROUGH OUR
SOLAR SYSTEM

IT SHEDS SOME OF ITS DEBRIS ALONG
ITS ORBIT, AND IF THE EARTH INTERSECTS WITH

THE COMETS PATH--
WE'LL GET A

METEOR SHOWER.

METEOR SHOWERS
ARE SOMEWHAT

PREDICTABLE BECAUSE THE EARTH RETURNS
TO ABOUT THE SAME SPOT IN SPACE AT THE SAME

TIME EACH YEAR.

JAMES:
AND EVERY NOVEMBER

WE PLOW INTO SOME OF THE DEBRIS TRAILS OF
COMET TEMPEL-TUTTLE,

A COMET WHICH VISITS THE SUN EVERY 33 YEARS.

AND IN THE YEARS JUST PRECEDING OR FOLLOWING
TEMPEL-TUTTLE'S PASSAGE

WE PASS THROUGH DENSER DEBRIS TRAILS, AND
WE MAY EXPERIENCE METEOR SHOWERS

WITH GREATER THAN USUAL INTENSITY
WHICH WE CALL

METEOR STORMS.

THE LAST STORM FROM THE LEONIDS WAS IN 2002.

DEAN:
YOU NEVER KNOW WHEN ONE OF THESE STORMS MAY

HAPPEN,
BUT THE BEST PREDICTION TO SEE SOME METEORS

THIS YEAR FOR NORTH AMERICA IS TO GO OUT FROM
1 A.M.

THROUGH DAWN ON THE
17TH OR 18TH.

JAMES:
I KNOW THATS REALLY LATE AT NIGHT,

AND IT MIGHT BE COLD OUTSIDE, BUT THAT'S THE
BEST TIME TO LOOK.

DEAN:
FACE EAST WHERE

OU'LL FIND LEO RISING.

HE HAS A BACKWARD QUESTION MARK FOR
HEAD, AND A TRIANGLE FOR A TAIL.

THE METEORS WILL SEEM TO RADIATE FROM AROUND
THERE.

JAMES:
AS THE NIGHT GOES ON, LEO WILL GET HIGHER

IN THE SKY AND YOU'LL HAVE A BETTER CHANCE
OF SEEING MORE METEORS.

DEAN:
MAYBE YOU'LL SEE A FEW REALLY BRIGHT METEORS

WITH LONG TRAILS!

JAMES:
OR MAYBE NOT.

JAMES:
AND ONE MORE THING,

THE LEONIDS ARE THE FASTEST OF ALL METEORS
BECAUSE WE ARE HITTING THEM NEARLY HEAD ON.

THEY SLAM INTO OUR EARTH'S ATMOSPHERE TRAVELING
AT SPEEDS OVER 158,000 MILES PER HOUR!

WATCH OUT!

DEAN:
AND FOR THOSE OF YOU CAN ONLY STAY UP UNTIL

10PM, YOU CAN GET A PREVIEW OF THE
WINTER SKY.

LOOK SOUTHEAST FOR ORION AND HIS SNAZZY BELT
OF THREE STARS RISING UP.

JAMES:
THE BELT STARS CAN POINT YOU TO OTHER STAR

PATTERNS.

CONNECT THE DOTS AND KEEP GOING UP.

YOU'LL RUN INTO TAURUS THE BULL - THAT LOOKS
LIKE A V-SHAPE OF STARS.

AND IF YOU KEEP GOING
A LITTLE FURTHER YOU'LL COME TO THE BEST STAR

CLUSTER IN THE SKY,
THE SEVEN SISTERS.

DEAN:
BACK TO THE EARLY MORNING SKY ON THE 17TH

OR 18TH
BE SURE TO GET OUT

AND WATCH THE LEONID METEOR SHOWER RADIATING
FROM

LEO THE LION.

JAMES:
AND JUST AS DAWN BREAKS THE GIANT PLANET JUPITER

WILL RISE AND JOIN THE SHOW.

SO HAPPY METEOR SHOWER AND...

BOTH:
KEEP LOOKING UP!