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Weekend Meteor Shower for New England

By MELISSA TRUJILLO
The Associated Press
Friday, November 17, 2006; 7:35 PM


BOSTON -- Stargazers in New England, New York and Western Europe could see
an "outburst" of hundreds of meteors this weekend during the annual Leonid
meteor shower _ if the skies are clear enough.

A typical Leonid shower in November brings 10 to 20 meteors an hour under
ideal viewing conditions _ a dark sky filled with stars and free of light
pollution.

But this year, the Earth is passing through a denser trail of debris left by
the Comet Tempel-Tuttle, causing a higher concentration of meteors, said
Brian Marsden, a senior astronomer at the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for
Astrophysics in Cambridge.

Meteors are caused by bits of space debris, in this case debris left by the
comet. Dust and debris from the comet burn up in the atmosphere and create
the streaks of light.

The Comet Tempel-Tuttle passed through the inner solar system in 1998, and
Marsden said the longer its been since the comet passed, the fewer meteors
are expected.

"The surprise is that we are already eight going on nine years after the
comet was here," he said.

The rush of meteors was expected between 11:45 p.m. and 1:30 a.m. EST
Saturday and Sunday. Meteor forecasters predict 100 to 200 meteors an hour
during the peak, said Alan MacRobert, the senior editor of Sky & Telescope
magazine, based in Cambridge.

Skygazers in New England, eastern New York and eastern Canada have the best
chance of catching the action in North America because they'll most directly
face the oncoming shower, MacRobert said.

"The place you really want to be is westernmost Europe or England," he said.
"They'll be ideally placed."

But other parts of the country may catch sight of the outburst if it arrives
a few hours late, he said.

The National Weather Service predicts partly cloudy skies in southern New
England and mostly cloudy weather in northern New England and New York for
Saturday and Sunday.

"It's probably not going to be an ideal time to view any meteor showers,"
meteorologist Charlie Foley said.

___

On the Net:

Sky & Telescope: http://www.skytonight.com

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