Stargazers running for the hills

People will have a better chance this year than last to view the Leonids meteor shower (獅?l座流星群), according to the Central Weather Bureau. Last year, views were spoiled by cloudy weather.

Stargazers may see 100 to 1000 meteors per hour this year, officials said.

The best observation time will be in the early morning hours between 2am and dawn Nov. 18.

To welcome the arrival of the Leonids, the Taipei Astronomy Museum (TAM台北市立??撅育館) and Yangmingshan National Park (陽明?s國家?蓿?/CHINESE>) have initiated a series of introduction and observation activities for the public. The highlight of the series is a field activity on Nov. 17 evening at Chingtienkang (擎?拲^), one of the famous tourist spots in the national park.

"We will give lectures first to let people know what the Leonids are and the reasons for their existence. We will also lead an observation in the early hours of Nov. 18 to provide explanations to those interested," said Jim Lee (李瑾), an assistant researcher at the museum.

At a lecture held by the museum last weekend about the arrival of the last Leonid meteor shower in the century, Lee began with a dramatic story of what happened in 1833.

Shooting stars and fireballs on Nov. 13 of that year dazzled people who lived in North America, he said. After seeing bright streaks filling the sky, people shouted in panic, thinking the end of the world had come.

Instead of the end of the world, Lee said, it was the beginning of a serious study of the Leonids, a celestial spectacle which occurs every 33 years and has been recorded by scientists in China, Arabia and Europe since 902 AD.

The Leonid meteor showers, named for the meteors which appear to originate in the constellation Leo, are caused when the Earth passes through the long tail of the Tempel-Tuttle comet.

The proximity of the Earth to the comet increases the number of meteors visible from Earth.

Lee said though that in some years, the meteor shower is more visible than in others.

"Although the meteor storm in 1833 scared people, it seemed to be absent in 1899 and 1932. After that, people saw the meteor shower again in 1966," added Lee.

Lu Shu-chen (呂2Q-s), a natural science teacher at Luchou Elementary School (蘆洲國?p) in Taipei County, said that well-designed activities about the Leonids could inspire people to learn more about astronomy.

"With the Leonids coming, I need information to give students. I encourage parents to take their children out for the observation. Maybe some of them will develop an interest in the subject because of this. Learning through activities makes a bigger impression on people than what they read in books," said Lu.

Most people attending the lecture, however, were more interested in when, where and how to observe the fantastic display than in learning the astronomical details.

"As long as the sky is clear, I would suggest stargazers go to remote mountain areas or offshore islands such as Orchid Island (蘭嶼) or Penghu (澎湖) to where there is less light pollution," said Lee.

"Since the best place according to professional astronomers to observe the Leonids, Snow Mountain (?j3?s), has been cut off since the 921 earthquake, I would suggest that people go to Alishan (阿里?s) in Chiayi County. In Taipei, if you dare to stay in the cemetery for deceased servicemen near Wuchih Mountain (?-指?s), the Leonids won't disappoint you," said Freeman Li (?福隆), a museum researcher.