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(meteorobs) Re: Leonids in Wall St Jour
The 1998 August 28 (Friday) front page of the Wall Street Journal has an
article about the Leonids, described in terms of an earthly storm. It will
be a "space hurricane," the "worst meteor storm in 32 years." The annual
display is seen from the ground as "red, green, and blue streaks." Let's
not forget yellow (most observers who see color have a lot of yellow) and
orange. I don't see red at all (red-orange is the best I can do), and green
is rare outside of the Geminids. Optimistically "this year's storm isn't
expected to be nearly as bad as one back in 1966..." Just like a hurricane
with a name, "...unpredictability is what makes Leonid so dangerous." That
sounds like a single meteor ; "Leonids" would be the whole shower. The
singular form should be used as an adjective, not a noun. The bulk of the
article deals with the threat to satellites. A long time ago I read that
even in the densest portion of the Leonid meteoroid swarm the particles are
still five miles apart.
Norman