Earthling

In a recent University of Illinois at Chicago survey sent to 10,257 Earth Scientists, 97.4% of the climatologists who responded answered "yes" when asked "do you think human activity is a significant contributing factor in changing mean global temperatures?"

With the release of the revised statement by the American Association of Petroleum Geologists in 2007, no remaining scientific body of national or international standing is known to reject the basic findings of human influence on recent climate change.

World Population is currently about 6.7 billion. It grew more in the last 50 years than during the preceding 4 million years. We now add 4 people each second, 250/minute, 15,000/hour, 220,000/day or 80 million people per year.

Symptoms of a Common Cold vs. an Influenza (Flu) Viris (H1N1)

2009 Leonid Meteor Shower

The 2009 Leonid meteor shower is expected to be a good one. According to Meteor Showers Online ,

"Astronomers are predicting that the Leonids could experience an outburst of about 500 per hour on November 17. Although Asia is favored for the outburst, observations are encouraged around the world on the mornings of November 17 and 18, as better than normal rates could be seen. The moon will not be an issue.

The Leonid meteor shower has produced some of the most spectacular meteor displays in history, but it is unfortunately periodic in nature.

The Leonids generally begin on November 13 and end on November 21, with maximum generally occurring during the night of Novemer 17/18. The Leonids are barely detectable on the beginning and ending dates, but observers are generally treated to displays of about 10 meteors per hour on the night of maximum. About every 33 years, the Leonids enter a phase of enhanced activity that accompanies the return of its parent comet. During these periods, rates can amount to hundreds and even thousands of meteors per hour. The last such enhanced period occurred during the period of 1998-2002 and the Leonids have been winding down ever since." - Meteor Showers Online

The best viewing is expected to be early in the morning of November 18 between 2 and 4 am, with pretty good viewing on the mornings of the 17th and 19th as well. For more information about the event and how to view it, check out Meteor Showers Online .

The 2001 event was a once-in-a-lifetime experience for me. That year there were over a thousand meteors per hour at its peak. I stayed up all night and took long exposures of the night sky with a 35mm camera on a tripod. I had the aperture wide open, focused on infinity and opened the shutter for periods of 5 to 10 minutes. Quite a few of my photos showed multiple meteors. Here's a typical shot I took with a meteor near the center, two others trailing off to the lower right, and a fourth barely visible at the upper left edge. If you draw lines through the tails to show their paths, all the paths converge on the "head" of Leo the lion (constellation).

After scanning the print (this was before digital cameras were widely available), I adjusted the contrast:

Though the faint meteors have disappeared, you can now see the colors of the various stars, and the vivid orange meteor "head" along with the bright green "tail." Here's a closer view of this short "cigar" meteor:

The Leonids can produce a very good show. Consider going to bed early on the 17th, and getting up around 3-4 am on the 18th. Very early morning is always the best time for viewing, and a dark location will result in more meteors visible.Look toward the south sky for Leo the Lion. Though meteors can appear anywhere in the sky, they all appear to emanate from the "radiant," which for the Leonids is the "head" of Leo.

The reason these meteors appear at this time every year, is that around the middle of November, the Earth passes through the densest part of a "trail" of debris left by the comet Tempel-Tuttle. Because there is so much variability in the location of the debris in relation to Earth's orbital path, the number of meteor sightings varies dramatically from year to year. So when astronomers say that a big one is coming, even though these predictions are hard to make and can be off by quite a bit, it's a good idea to consider getting out to view the show, because witnessing a "meteor storm" as I did truly is a memorable, once-in-a-lifetime experience!

Here's wishing you a clear night and happy wishing on your "shooting stars!"

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