In search of the Leonids

Leonid meteors seen streaking through the sky over Joshua Tree National Park, California. The horizontal streaks captured in this photo are stars or planets.

I thought I was going to develop a stiff neck this morning.

Early this morning I went out of our Fairview home to see the starry night sky in search of shooting stars.

The media reported last night about the Leonid meteor shower, supposed to be one of the most stunning annual meteor showers seen from around the world. It is said to peak early Wednesday morning (Philippine time), November 17, 2009.

The meteors, dubbed “cosmic garbage” are bits of dust particles shed from the repeated passes of a small 2.2 mile dusty comet discovered by two astronomers in the late 19th century and christened Tempel-Tuttle. They are called "Leonids" because they appear to come from the direction of the constellation Leo.

NASA has predicted "20 to 30 meteors per hour over the Americas, and as many as 200 to 300 per hour over Asia."

So feeling like a member of the Taiwanese group F4 of Meteor Garden fame, I gazed into the moonless night sky. During the rather long wait, I remembered I used to stargaze when I was a young kid. As a child, I used to be fascinated with the various planets of the solar system. If I had the aptitude to be a scientist, I surely would have been an astronomer.

The meteor shower at least from my experience, turned out to be a drip. When big clouds finally hovered on top, I decided to call it the night (early morning actually). Tired but not exactly star-crossed.

After more or less an hour of standing in our driveway I was able to see three meteors drop down from the sky. More or less equal the number of planes I also saw twinkling above during that same duration of time. The first and third ones were a bit hazy, probably smaller bits of the famous cosmic speck. The second meteor though brief in its appearance, streaked like a bright white ray of light in the dark sky. No vivid description though could compare with the unique experience of seeing one.

For those who weren’t outside their home early this morning. The following pictures from around the world may give you some perspective.

Leonids meteors are seen shooting through the South Korean sky

The Leonids over Monpelier and Barre, Vermont, U.S.A. on November 18, 2001

Leonid meteors over Beijing, China in November 2001

Three Leonid meteors for the price of an hour’s sleep. To some it may appear like a bad trade off. But the rare enjoyment of appreciating the cosmic wonders of God’s universe was reason enough to do it. More so, the stargazing also made me reminisce and feel like the curious child I was back then. That certainly made it more worth while.

I’m a little sleepy right now.

It must be the stardust in my eyes.