November 2002

By Steve Stefanik

The most anticipated astronomical event of this year may or may not happen this November. The annual Leonid meteor shower undoubtedly will happen as scheduled on the night of the 18^th and into the early morning hours of the 19^th , but the question is whether it will be a "storm" as predicted or merely a typical "shower". Every year the earth passes through the wake of comet 55P/Temple-Tuttle during November. Since it was discovered independently by Wilhelm Temple back in 1865 and Horace Tuttle in 1866, meteor storms have occurred in 1767, 1833, 1866, and 1966 when thousands of meteor sightings were reported rather than the more usual hundreds per hour. The earth will pass through two streams of debris left behind during the 1767 and 1866 appearances of the comet so we should see at least twice as many meteors as usual, maybe more. Meteors from the first stream should peak around 11:00 p.m. EST on the night of the 18^th just about the time Leo the lion is rising above the eastern horizon, the constellation from which they appear to emanate. It may be difficult to see many of the fainter streaking meteors however because the moon will be almost full. A second peak will occur about 6 hours later around 5:00 a.m. when we pass through the stream from the 1866 passage of Temple-Tuttle. At that time the full moon will be considerably lower in the western sky, which will greatly improve the chances for seeing dimmer Leonid meteors.

While you are out and waiting for the Leonid activity to begin, as you face east, the constellations Taurus the bull and Orion the hunter will be considerably above the horizon. You should notice a fairly bright –0.3 magnitude yellow-orange "star" between them. This is not a star. It is the planet Saturn. Through binoculars or even a small telescope you should be able to make out its ring system. If you increase the magnification with a shorter focal length eyepiece lens, you may be able to see a distinct darkened separation in the ring structure known as the Cassini Division.

The planet Jupiter rises a few hours after mid-night in the constellation Cancer the crab. You can’t miss it. At –2.2 magnitude, it’s the brightest object in that portion of the sky except for the moon of course. If you point your binoculars or telescope at it you will see the alternating light and dark bands of its atmosphere and its four largest moons, Io, Europa, Ganymeade, and Callisto.

If you are still out and about waiting for the second peak of Leonid meteors to arrive, you may notice the brilliant –4.5 magnitude planet Venus rising in the constellation Virgo which rises just behind Leo. It has just come out from inferior conjunction being between the earth and the sun last month. Through binoculars you’ll notice that even as bright as it is, it is only in a slim crescent phase.

You may also locate the +1.8 magnitude planet Mars several degrees above Venus. It’s within a few degrees of the 1^st magnitude star Spica, which is the brightest star in Virgo. Although you may be able to spot it without binoculars or a telescope, you won’t be able to make out any details on its surface. It’s too distant now and won’t reach opposition until next year because its orbital period is twice that of earth’s.

The planet Mercury is in conjunction with the sun this month and won’t be visible