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Re: (meteorobs) Re Moonlight Observing (Leonids - Lew Gramer)
Adam,
> I agree 100%, they are too importnat to miss. Our group is planning a
> trip on the night, moon or no moon we were going. From what I have read
> this may be the last time we have a storm (1998) from the Leonids untill
> the middle of the 22nd century (please somebody confirm this - Sirko
> ??). Something to do with the streams orbit and perturbations I think.
correct. Due to pertubation by Jupiter, the minimum distance between the
orbits of Earth and P/Tempel-Tuttle (which is the main number for a
good meteor show down here :-) is changing. In the last two centuries this
distance was very small, especially in 1833 and 1966, which produced two
of the most remarkable meteor storms ever. In 1998/99 the situation is
slightly worse, with the Earth moving farther outside the comet's orbit
compared to 1966 (which is why it is believed that the 1998/99 event will
not be as spectacular as the 1966 one). In the next decades, this distance
will continue to grow (around 2032 the chances are even worse), and not
before the 22nd or 23rd century we may witness the next meteor strom from
the Leonids, if the computer models are correct.
Sirko
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