Passport to Texas

Passport to Texas from Texas Parks and Wildlife

On November 18th, the sky will start to fall over Texas.

The Leonid Meteor Shower is a shower that occurs every November.

Anita Cochran, the assistant director of the McDonald Observatory, explains this phenomenon.

It is, as a result of, the debris left over from the passage of the Comet Temple Tuttle which comes past the sun and past the earth every thirty-three years. In 2007, the earth’s orbit will intercept the orbit of the dust trail that was left when the comet passed the sun in 1932. These dust particles burning up in the earth’s atmosphere will create this year’s shower.

In 1833, the Leonid Meteor shower rained down thousands of meteors an hour. This caused some people to believe that these meteors signified the end of the world. This year, the shower won’t be as drastic.

There are times when we go through, and it’s approximately every thirty three years, when we see a huge storm because we go through the peak of it. We might see hundreds of meteors per hour. In this particular year, the peak of it will occur when it’s daytime in the United States and when people should go out and see it, which is the end of the night – they’ll only be seeing about ten meteors an hour.

Find a state park where you can see the Leonid Shower at passporttotexas.org (see below)

That’s our show…with research and writing help from Kate Lipinski… For Texas Parks and Wildlife…I’m Cecilia Nasti.
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November 17, 2007 Lake Texana SP – Meteor Program – Learn about the Leonid Meteors and maybe get a glimpse of them, weather permitting, at the amphitheater. 7:30-9 p.m. (361) 782-5718.

November 18, 2007 Seminole Canyon SP&HS – Leonid Meteor Shower and Astronomy Program – Watch the Leonid meteor shower under the dark West Texas skies and see a free educational program about meteors. Program subject to cancellation due to cloudy or inclement weather. 6-9 p.m. (432) 292-4464.

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