Nov. 18, 1999 -
Astrobiologists on a NASA mission to study the Leonid meteors were in
the right place at the right time to study a rare natural phenomenon --
a meteor storm.
At the peak of the storm, which occurred at 02:10 GMT, Nov. 18, the
Leonid meteors were falling from the sky at a rate of 2,200 per hour.
A meteor shower is classified as a storm when the rate exceeds 1,000
meteors per hour.
"It's getting to the point where we can't click fast enough to keep up
with the meteors!" exclaimed Dave Holman of the California Meteor
Society, one of several amateur astronomers on the meteor-counting
team. A total of 15,251 meteors were counted during the six-hour
observation period on the overnight flight from Israel to the Azores.
"That's a lot of meteors!" said Chris Crawford, the amateur astronomer
responsible for compiling the data collected from each person counting
the meteors. "I've seen just about as many meteors in one night as
I've seen in over 34 years of meteor watching."
Near real-time data on the number of meteors falling per hour was
provided to NASA and the U.S. Air Force by a team of amateur
astronomers who counted the meteors using virtual reality goggles and
laptop computers. The meteor counting team was aboard the ARIA, one of
two aircraft provided by the United States Air Force to support this
mission. The data was sent from the ARIA, an EC-18 aircraft, to the
ground via the TDRS satellite system. NASA and the Air Force are joint
sponsors of the Leonid Multi-instrument Airborne Campaign.
"I am ecstatic over how well this night went!" said Peter Jenneskins,
chief scientist for the Leonid mission. "Our models proved to be right
on for predicting where and when the meteor storm would take place. We
gathered some fantastic images, and the data obtained should provide
valuable insight into the role meteors may have played in the evolution
of life on Earth."
While viewing the horizon at one point during the storm, meteors,
lightning and sprites could be seen from the planes. Sprites are
lightning phenomena that rise from the ground to the sky. "For 10
minutes we had a view of the way the sky may have looked on Earth over
4 million years ago," Jenneskins said. "It was an awesome sight."
The second observing night of the Leonid astrobiology mission began
when the ARIA and FISTA aircraft left Tel Aviv at about 23:00 GMT, Nov.
18. The flight crew of the ARIA reported seeing two meteors almost as
soon as the wheels left the ground. Once the planes reached altitude,
they began flying in 150 nautical mile flying patterns from east to
west over Israel and the Mediterranean. These orbits provided a unique
opportunity for scientists on the planes and scientists on the ground
to collaborate. The data collected from the planes will be combined
with visual, radar and radio observation data from Israeli scientists
on the ground to form an extremely comprehensive data set regarding the
Leonid meteors.
The aircraft stopped the orbits after one hour and continued westbound
towards the Azores, flying approximately 80-100 nautical miles apart at
37,000 feet. ARIA's path flew the scientists off the coast of Crete and
over Sicily, while FISTA's path flew over mainland Greece and the boot
of Italy. ARIA then flew over the top of Menorca and Majorca, crossed
central Spain by Madrid, and continued over the top of Portugal down to
the Azores. FISTA flew over Sardinia and Barcelona and out the
northwest corner of Spain, and then down to the Azores. The planes
landed at Lajes Airbase in the Azores at approximately 07:15 GMT, Nov.
18.
While over Spain and Portugal, scientists on the aircraft performed
coordinated observations with a series of ground based observing teams.
"The coordinated air and ground observations that were conducted during
the flight are an invaluable part of this highly successful mission,"
stated Col. S. Pete Worden, of the United States Air Force
headquarters, Washington, D.C. "Not only do we have a phenomenal set
of data from the air, but we also have complimentary data from the
ground that can be used to help us better understand and predict meteor
storms and the impact they may have on space operations." Col. Worden
flew aboard the ARIA aircraft from Tel Aviv to the Azores. The Air
Force operates more than 100 satellites that could be affected by a
meteor storm.
It takes the Earth a few days to get through the debris trail left by
the periodic comet 55P/Tempel-Tuttle that produces the Leonid meteors.
Therefore, one more observation night is scheduled during a flight from
the Azores to Patrick Air Force Base in Florida.
The scientists and crew aboard the ARIA and FISTA are not the only
people able to see the Leonid meteors from the unique vantage-point of
an airplane. Live video from the plane is being sent to the internet
during the mission for people on the ground to watch. For current
information about the Leonid Multi-instrument Airborne Campaign visit:
http://leonid.arc.nasa.gov/
-end-
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SATELLITE FEED INFO FOR THIS STORY--
Video File for Nov. 18, 1999
11:00 am (NASA TV)
ITEM 3 - LEONIDS 1999 IMAGES FROM NOV. 17 (replay)/AMES
ITEM 4 - LEONIDS 1998 PLUS 1999 INTERVIEWS FROM NOV. 16
AMES/MSFC (replay)
ITEM 5 - SOLVE VIDEO FILE - ARC, LARC, DFRC
ITEM 6 - MARS MISSIONS CLIP REEL (file footage)
LIVE TELEVISION EVENTS THIS WEEK:
November 19, Friday
1:00 - 2:00 pm - Space Science Update on Results from First
Galileo Flyby of Jovian Moon, Io - HQ
*****************************
ITEM 1 - POSSIBLE NEW LEONIDS IMAGES FROM JERUSALEM
(shot Nov. 17) - AMES
ITEM 2 - HIGH-ALTITUDE BALLOON VIDEO OF LEONIDS
(shot Nov. 17) - MSFC
ITEM 3 - LEONIDS 1999 IMAGES FROM NOV. 17 (replay)/AMES
Contact at NASA Headquarters, Washington, DC: Donald Savage
(Phone 202/358-1547).
Contact at NASA Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, CA: Kathleen
Burton (Phone 650/604-1731).
LIVE TELEVISION EVENTS THIS WEEK:
November 19, Friday
1:00 - 2:00 pm - Space Science Update on Results from First
Galileo Flyby of Jovian Moon, Io - HQ
*****************************
ITEM 3a - 1999 LEONID B-ROLL-------------------------------TRT :42
Meteor streaks from the ARIA aircraft during the first night of
the 1999 Leonid Airborne Campaign.
ITEM 3b - INTERVIEW EXCERPTS------------------------------TRT 1:20
Jane Houston, U.S. Astronomer, Leonid Meteor Count Team
ITEM 4 - LEONIDS 1998 PLUS 1999 INTERVIEWS FROM NOV. 16
AMES/MSFC (replay)
*****************************
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