Skywatch: Your guide to seeing shooting stars

Head outside on any clear night, sit back in a comfortable chair with a warm beverage, and watch the stars up above. Chances are, if you sit out there long enough, you will also see a meteor streak across the sky. Also called shooting stars, these fast, fleeting fiery visitors to Earth’s upper atmosphere can spark wonder in any stargazer – and the big and bright ones, called fireballs, are sure to elicit some, “Oohs” and “Aahs!”

A meteor exists for only a brief moment. When a meteoroid, asteroid or comet plunges through Earth’s atmosphere and creates a “shooting star,” that is a meteor. You can wish upon it, but you have to be quick. Most meteors are only visible for a few seconds. 

Meteors every year

Every year, skywatchers look forward to several predictable meteor showers like the Perseids, Orionids and Leonids. These annual meteor showers actually come from comets. A comet zoomed through the inner solar system and left icy parts of its tail behind. Eventually, this comet debris can slam into the Earth and create meteor showers that peak on certain mornings. 

When you see meteors, they may look close to you, but they are not. They light up when they are 40 to 50 miles above Earth in the upper atmosphere. Meteors blaze because they are decelerating from tens of thousands of miles per hour to hundreds of miles per hour. That rapid deceleration transmits into heat and causes the air around the meteor to glow. Once the meteor is lower in the sky and has stopped this rapid deceleration, it stops shining.

Despite their occasional brilliance, most meteors are incredibly small. They are about the size of a grain of sand and rapidly burn up before hitting the ground. Only the larger and denser meteors survive their plunge and actually hit the Earth. Those incredibly rare extra-terrestrial rocks are called meteorites. 

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Leonid Meteor Shower

The Leonid Meteor Shower peaks on the mornings of Nov. 17 and 18 when we pass through the tail of a comet called Tempel-Tuttle. Cometary pieces are mostly made of ice and dust and are so small that they completely burn up before hitting the ground. These are your classic “shooting stars” that streak rapidly across the sky. 

Meteor showers are notoriously fickle, so astronomers can rarely predict how active a shower will be. Be skeptical of any news story that promises you will see “80-100 meteors per hour.” If you’re far from city lights on the night of Nov. 17 into the morning of the 18th, you may be able to see 10-15 Leonids per hour (if you’re lucky). Keep your expectations low. But binoculars and telescopes are not needed. Just face southeast, kick back in a comfy chair, and start wishing upon a star.

Sometimes, it takes patience to see any meteors, and don’t expect to see the sky falling. Watching for meteors is not an action-packed adventure. But it’s a chance to slow down, watch the sky with friends and family and, even if you see only a few meteors, it can be one of the best nights you can spend under the stars.

Dean Regas is the Outreach Astronomer at the Cincinnati Observatory, co-host of PBS’ Star Gazers and author of the book "Facts from Space!" He can be reached at dean@cincinnatiobservatory.org

Event: Meet a Meteorite

See, touch and buy hundreds of meteorites from around the solar system – including pieces of the moon and Mars. Plus viewing of the stars through the telescope (weather permitting).

When: Saturday, Nov. 11 from 7-10 p.m.

Where: Cincinnati Observatory, 3489 Observatory Place, Mount Lookout

Admission: $10/adult, $5/student, free for Veterans and Observatory members

Info: All ages. No reservations needed, www.cincinnatiobservatory.org