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Look, in the sky, it's (with luck) a meteor By MELISSA MARTIN If clouds don't block the view, Rogue Valley residents might see the Leonid meteors early Sunday morning in what some scientists say could be the most spectacular shooting star show in our lifetimes. Between 1 and 3 a.m. Sunday, skywatchers might see six to 66 meteors, or "shooting stars," per minute streaking across the heavens. "There are no guarantees, but all the signs point to it being an excellent shower," said Dave Bloomsness, president of Southern Oregon Skywatchers. He's watched meteor showers in the Red Rock desert in Southern California before and he's also enjoyed the Geminids' December shower that produced about 400 shooting stars an hour. Leonid meteors are streaks of light from the bits of debris, or meteoroids, from comet Tempel-Tuttle. This hurtling ball of ice and debris orbits the sun every 33 years. Leonid meteors arrive in mid-November as the Earth plows through what is usually a thin cloud of the dusty debris shed by the comet. But this year, the comet swept closer to the sun, causing it to shed more debris for more meteors. "It's a shot in the dark whether it's going to be clear enough to see it or not," said science teacher Gary Sprague, who runs the planetarium at North Medford High School. "It could be pretty spectacular if we get clear skies." Forecasters predict low clouds and fog developing late tonight, said Rick Holtz, a meteorologist at the National Weather Service in Medford. Skywatchers may want to drive to the top of Mount Ashland or hike to Roxy Ann Peak in case clouds break and let the stars peek through. "The higher up you are, the better chance you might have," Holtz said. Night owls who are still up at after midnight should step outside and search the skies. But early-to-bed, early-to-rise types who plan to set their alarms to see the night show might want to check the weather service Web site after the afternoon forecast is posted today. Go to www.wrh.noaa.gov/medford on the Net. To view the meteors, look in the sky due east toward the constellation Leo, the Lion. Leo rises at midnight and reaches its highest point in the sky at about 7 a.m., Sprague said. It's possible to see shooting stars until dawn at about 6 a.m. Bloomsness advises skywatchers to find a reasonably dark sky site in an open area. "The best show should be after midnight and probably around 3 a.m.," he said. If you start watching the skies before Leo rises at midnight, you might see earthgrazers, a flurry of shooting stars created by a Leonid meteor outburst. They appear to be streaking slowly from one end of the heavens to the other, but they are actually hitting Earth's atmosphere at 161,000 mph, according to NASA at www.spaceweather.com on the Web. "(Earthgrazers) are disintegrating meteoroids that fly over the horizon nearly parallel to the atmosphere," the Web site states. "They produce long, colorful tails." Reach reporter Melissa Martin at 776-4497, or e-mail [email protected] Mail Tribune Home | Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. | Dow Jones & Co., Inc. | Privacy | Contact Us Copyright � 2001 Mail Tribune, Inc.