BETHLEHEM, Pa. — Brad Klein reviews upcoming astronomical highlights with Bethlehem’s ‘Backyard Astronomy Guy,’ Marty McGuire.
For November, we’re taking a look at comets, with three getting a lot of attention as they pass through our inner solar system. This week, the subject is the relationship between comets and meteor showers.
The Leonid meteor shower peaks each year around November 17-18, and like all annual meteor showers, it is caused by the Earth’s passage through orbiting debris left behind by comets.
In the case of the Leonid meteor shower, it is comet 55P/Tempel-Tuttle which has left behind tiny, sand-sized particles in space. As they plunge through the Earth’s atmosphere, the create the bright streaks in the night sky that are commonly called, ‘shooting stars.’
The Leonid meteor shower “produces some of the brightest shooting stars,” according to McGuire. That’s because of the high speed at which they encounter the Earth’s atmosphere.