The 2009 Leonid Meteor Shower is coming to Earth and possibly near you! Meteor showers are typically named after the area of the sky from which they appear to radiate. The Leonids come from the constellation Leo.
The Leonids are known to be made up of particles from a 2.2 mile dusty comet called “Tempel-Tuttle”. This comet takes 33 years to complete an orbit.
The Earth encounters the lingering debris from previous orbital passes when these tiny particles, typically no bigger than a sand grain, impact our atmosphere at speeds of up to 45 miles per second, revealing a spectacular blazing myriad of colors in the night sky.
Comets are composed to ice and dust and melt when they get closer to the sun, spreading particles around the part of the orbit. When Earth passes through the orbital debris - we experience a meteor shower.
BRACE YOURSELF. You could potentially see up to 30- 300 shooting stars per hour depending on your dwelling. Get out the lawn chairs and beer and toast to a miraculous and spectacular vision.
Count on moments like these to really put us in our place. To remind us of something much greater beyond this Earth and much larger - making us somewhat…insignificant.
Sometimes, we humans (the dominant species) NEED to be knocked down a few pegs…
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