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Track the Meteor Storm Online!

Every year, around November 17, Earth passes through a stream of meteoroids originating from the comet 55P/Tempel-Tuttle -- and every year a meteor shower results. Every 33 years, Tempel-Tuttle's orbit takes it into the inner solar system closest to the sun and to Earth's orbit -- and Earth's first pass through that year's stream often results in a dramatic meteor storm.

In fact, the Leonid meteor showers, so named because they seem to radiate from the constellation Leo, have produced some of the most spectacular meteor events in history. During the last great Leonid meteor storm in 1966, up to 40 meteors per second could be seen from Earth. According to many astronomers, the showers in 1998 or 1999 could rival that event.

Will the astronomers predictions prove correct -- or will the storm fizzle? Will hundreds of thousands of meteors sail harmlessly past Earth's orbiting satellites -- or will the power of their impact knock out satellite communications throughout the world? No one knows for sure, but everyone in the astronomical community will be watching. And you won't want to miss out on the scientific opportunities presented by this historic meteor event.

To help your students understand the causes and effects of this rare spectacle and to prepare them for the excitement of an event they're probably hearing a great deal about, we've created three scavenger hunts -- for elementary, middle, and high school students. Each hunt includes questions both about meteors in general and about the Leonids in particular. Students simply read the questions and then go to the suggested Web site to locate the answers. Each scavenger hunts also includes several cross-curricular activities that can be used to extend the lesson.

To get started, choose one of the hunts below:

• Scavenger Hunt I is for students in grades K-4.
• Scavenger Hunt II is for students in grades 5-8.
• Scavenger Hunt III is for students in grades 9-12.

Then sit back and enjoy the show!

LEONID SCAVENGER HUNT I

Type in each URL below and follow the directions to navigate the site and answer the questions. Scavenger Hunt I's Answer Key appears at the end of this document.

Starchild Web site at http://starchild.gsfc.nasa.gov.

1.	What is a comet?
	(Click Solar System beneath Level 1 and click comets in the text. To learn more, scroll down to the list of topics and click Comets.)
2.	Many meteoroids, meteors, and meteorites come from comets. What is the difference between a meteoroid, a meteor, and a meteorite?
	(Return to The Solar System page and click Meteoroids.)
3.	What is a meteor shower?
	(On the Meteoroids page, click Show Me the Level 2 Version of This Page.)
4.	The Leonids are very famous meteor showers. In what month do they occur?
	(On the Level 2 Meteoroids page, click Did You Know?)

Leonids Made Easy at http://medicine.wustl.edu/%7Ekronkg/Leonidsez.html

5.	How did the Leonid Meteor showers get their name?
	(Read What Are the Leonids?)
6.	Which moves faster, a Leonid meteor or a spacecraft?
	(Read What Do the Leonids Look Like?)
7.	What comet produces the Leonid showers?
	(Read Where Do the Leonids Come From?)
8.	When can you see the next Leonid showers?
	(Read When Do the Leonids Occur?)

Additional Meteor Activities for Grades K-4

• Letters of the Alphabet. Make a Space Alphabet Book.

• Astronomy -- Writing. Watch the '98 storm on a Live Webcast. Encourage students to write a story or journal entry about the event.

• Science. On the Starchild Web site, click The Solar System (Level 1) page and try some Solar System Activities.

• Vocabulary -- Research. Provide students with a list of space-related terms and ask them to find the words in the Starchild Glossary. Older students might be provided with a definition and asked to find the word or term it defines. Students can then create their own space glossaries.

• Art -- Science. Provide each student with a diagram of the solar system, showing each planet's orbit -- but not the planet. Then ask students to use the Kid's Space Solar System Color Pages to create models of the solar system. To find the coloring pages, start at NASA. Click Other Cool NASA Websites, scroll down to Educational and Interactive Sites, and click Liftoff to Space Exploration. Then click Kid's Space on the left. Click Color Pages and then The Solar System. Have students color the planets, cut them out, and paste them in the correct location in the solar system.

• Science. Invite students to take a Kid's Space Quiz. Return to Kid's Space above and click The Kid Quiz.

• Games. Invite students to visit The Space Place, click The Space Place, and Do Spacey Things.

• Communication. Invite students to read the reports from Earth and Sky about the 1997 and 1998 Leonid Meteor Showers and then ask them to create their own reports about the events.

Type in the URL below and explore the site to answer the questions. Scavenger Hunt II's Answer Key appears at the end of this document.

Comets and Meteor Showers at http://medicine.wustl.edu/~kronkg/index.html

1. Why are comets interesting to astronomers? Give at least 3 reasons.

2. What are the 3 main parts of a comet?

3. Where do most meteors come from?

4. What makes meteors visible in space?

5. What causes meteor showers? What is a meteor storm?

6. What comet produces the Leonids? How long does the comet take to make a single orbit?

7. What is a comet's radiant? Where is the Leonids' radiant located?

8. When can you see the next Leonid showers?

Additional Activities for Grades 5-8

• Communication. Ask students to read Meteors and the Native Americans (click Meteor Showers, Miscellaneous Meteor Shower Information, Meteors and the Native Americans on the Comets and Meteor Showers site) and create a pictograph of their lives.

• Vocabulary -- Research. Provide students with a list of space-related terms and ask them to find the words in the Glossary on the site above. Or provide students with a definition and ask them to find the word or term it defines.

• History. Ask students to read the history of the Leonids on the above site and create a timeline of the showers, noting significant events and discoveries.

• Astronomy. Encourage students to watch the Leonid meteor showers and then record and report on the date and time of their observations; what the conditions were; and what they observed. Or watch the Leonids '98 storm together on a Live Webcast.

• Math. Encourage students to download the Meteor Storm Simulation Software (Leonids), practice counting meteors, and calculate the number of meteors per hour.

• Art. Go to Leonid Meteor Shower and click Looking for Leo? Invite students to invent their own constellations and place stars to represent them.

• Games. Invite students to go to Kid's Space and complete the Picture Scrambles or Word Find. To go to Kid's Space, start at NASA. Click Other Cool NASA Websites, scroll down to Educational and Interactive Sites, and click Liftoff to Space Exploration. Then click Kid's Space on the left and select an activity.

• Art. Encourage students to visit The Mining Company's Guide to Space and Astronomy for Kids and choose Build a Model Spacecraft!

• More Math. Tell students that, in a normal year, they could expect to see about 15 meteors per hour in the Leonid showers. This year astronomers say as many as 150,000 meteors per hour might be seen. Ask them to determine the percentage of the increase.

Type the URL and explore the site to answer the questions. Scavenger Hunt III's Answer Key appears at the end of this document.

Leonid '98 Meteor Outburst Mission Homepage at http://www-space.arc.nasa.gov/~leonid/index.html

1. What are comets?

2. What causes meteors to occur?

3. What is the difference between a meteor and a meteoroid?

4. What comet do the Leonid meteors come from and what is the estimated diameter of that comet's nucleus?

5. What is the radiant of a meteor stream? Where is the radiant of the Leonid showers located?

6. What colors are meteors? What causes the colors?

7. What are meteor outbursts? Why do they occur?

8. How often do Leonid meteor streams and outbursts occur? When did the last one occur? When will the next one occur?

Additional Activities for Grades 9-12

• Astronomy. Ask students to watch the Leonid meteor showers and then record and report the date and time of their observations; what the conditions were; and what they observed. Or encourage them to watch the Leonids '98 storm on a Live Webcast.

• Math. Encourage students to download the Meteor Storm Simulation Software (Leonids), practice counting meteors, and calculate the number of meteors per hour or day.

• Physics. Explain to students that Leonid meteoroids can travel at speeds up to 71 kilometers per second -- much faster than typical meteors. Ask them to calculate how long it would take a Leonid meteor to travel from Los Angeles to New York. Then ask them to calculate the varying impact meteors traveling at different speeds have when they collide with objects in space.

• Making Connections. As a follow-up to the previous activity, invite students to read any or all of the following: the National Space and Meteor Hotline RED ALERT, the Leonid Meteor Shower "Threat to Satellites" page, the 1996 news story Satellites At Risk From Meteor Showers, or Understanding the Leonid Meteor Storms (testimony presented to the House of Representatives Committee on Science). Then ask students to stage a debate about the effect the Leonid showers might have on orbiting satellites.

• History. Encourage students to visit The American Meteor Society's Leonid Meteor Shower "History" section and create a graph showing the relative intensity of showers of the past decade.

• Games. Invite students to complete the Meteorites of the World Word Search.

• Leonid Meteor Shower From the University of Washington Astronomy Department, a brief discussion of the Leonid meteor showers, a graphic of the constellation Leo, and tips for viewing the event.
• Meteorite Central A site for meteorite collectors rather than astronomers, contains lots of interesting information about meteorites not found anywhere else. You'll find out about different types of meteorites, discover tips on how to authenticate meteorite finds, and learn many meteorite terms.
• Leonids.com Provides links to several interesting sites on the Leonid showers.
• NASA Resources Provides a link to NASA's Observatorium and The Leonid Meteors: November 14 to 19, 1998. The page includes images of previous Leonid meteor showers.
• The American Meteor Society The site includes definitions; information on meteors, meteor showers, fireballs, and how to observe them; and a Leonid Meteor Shower Facts page with lots of information about past Leonid showers as well as the upcoming showers.
• Small Bodies Provides links to many sites on asteroids, comets, and meteoroids, including the Leonids. Links include access to instructional materials.
• Phil Bagnall's Meteors and Meteorites Page Provides links to sites about meteors and meteorites as well as to meteor organizations around the world. A couple of sites provide information in Spanish.
• The International Meteor Organization Offers interesting information about different methods of meteor observation, hints for observing the Leonids, and links to other Leonid sites.
• Meteors, Meteorites and Impacts Includes great images of different kinds of meteorites, a chart showing the possible consequences of the impact of various size meteorites, and links to other sites about meteors and meteorites.
• Understanding the Leonid Meteor Storms From the Aerospace Corporation, this site provides background information that's clearly written and wholly understandable. It includes testimony presented to the House of Representatives regarding potential damage from the Leonid showers.
• High Moon Contains a schedule of astrological events through 2002 with links to information and images for many, and a section on the Leonid meteor storm that includes links to many Asian news sources.

ANSWER KEYS

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