A "Grazer"

Probable Meteor from the Leonids November 17/18 Shower

November 18th

The Leonids

Every November 17-18 Earth crosses the orbit of comet Tempel-Tuttle and the Leonids become visible. An observer with clear, dark skies can see 10 or 15 Leonid meteors every hour on that morning. Unless an observer is living at a very high northern latitude (generally within the Arctic Circle), the Leonids are only visible during the morning hours.

Since Tempel-Tuttle passed closest to the sun in February of 1998, the years following were expected to produce very strong displays. Displays of 250-300 per hour occurred in 1998, 3700 per hour occurred in 1999, and 480 per hour occurred in 2000. During the mornings of November 17 and 18 observers anywhere in the Northern Hemisphere should see greater than normal displays. Start watching sometime after about 11:30 p.m. local time (because of Earth's rotation, local time literally means "your time"). The radiant will still be about an hour from rising, but you will have the opportunity to see the "Grazers". These are Leonids that are not dropping down into Earth's atmosphere, but are instead grazing the atmosphere. These appear as reddish meteors that advance from east to west across a large part of the sky. In 1998 there were reports that several east coast television stations were receiving calls that rockets were seen crossing the sky. These "rockets" were in fact the Leonid grazers. As the radiant rises near 12:30 a.m. local time, the Leonids will travel shorter distances across the sky as they drop down into the atmosphere. Their color will also change to white and blue-white. Some of the brightest will actually appear slightly greenish.

Ref: GA R Y   W.   K R O N K ' S   C O M E T S   &   M E T E O R   S H O W E R S http://comets.amsmeteors.org/meteors/showers/leonidsez.html