Novembe News iirsday, November 15, 2001 THE BATTALION Page 3B -/Sunday meteor shower xpected to be best yet Raining diamonds This Sunday, Nov. 18, the Earth will pass through three streams of cosmic dust.left by an orbiting comet. North Americans may see a two-hour burst of Iights as particles burn up in Earth’s atmosphere. The Leonids meteor display starts at about 5 a.m. EST, or 2 a.m. PST. ...4' v ., Year of — ^P) — Brew some coffee, kck the lawn chairs. Astronomers let this year’s Leonids meteor |ay, expected to appear before Sunday, will be a dazzler worth ling a little sleep. ■It’s now or never,” said Robert I'e of the Astronomy Society of ’acific. “Astronomers don’t think 1 see another storm like this one the year 2099. We will probably ir see a better meteor shower in lifetimes.” (very year, scientists fly to places Ihe Gobi Desert or Canary Islands latch the heavens rain fire for a few iites in November. This year, li’s alignment suggests that North trica will be squarely beneath of the most vigorous shooting Pacific Islands and the Far East [see natural fireworks, too. [he most optimistic celestial fore call for a steady storm of 4,000 tors per hour, or about 70 per minute around 5 a.m. EST Sunday. With clear skies, luck and the bonus of a nearly moonless night, people in some locations could see twice that. The Leonids are dust particles shed by Comet Tempel-Tuttle. Like a truck barreling down a dirt road, the comet trails a cloud of dust as it orbits the sun once every 33 years. The meteors are called Leonids because they appear to radiate from the constellation Leo, the Lion. A really big meteor is equal to a grain of rice. Earth usually crosses a thin section of the Leonids trail; perhaps 10 mete ors per hour streak across the night sky. When the comet sweeps close to the sun, the sun’s heat causes it to shed more debris like a truck hitting a mud puddle. Earth gets splattered when it plows though the thick wake. It occurs every November for a few years until the particles dissipate. In 1966, observers couldn’t count the shooting stars fast enough. Estimates ranged as high as 150,000 per hour. Comet Tempel-Tuttle most recent ly passed close to the sun in February 1998, and since then, in the words of forecaster Joe Rao, the Leonids have “gone berserk.” While meteor displays thrill ama teur stargazers, they also hold scien tific promise. Comets are hurtling balls of ice and debris left over from the birth of the solar system more than 4 billion years ago. The particles contain basic ele ments like iron, as well as carbon- based molecules. Some scientists believe this is how Earth was seeded with organic compounds. “The chemical precursors to life — found in comet dust — may well have survived a plunge into early Earth’s atmosphere,” said NASA sci entist Peter Jenniskens, who directs airborne surveys of the Leonids. Year of comet’s * orbit , Showers are visible when Earth passes through remnants of. .'* r’ comet Tempel- Tuttle’s progress. - Streaks across the sky Meteors, or the particles blown off a comet, are minuscule, typically the size of a pin head. Traveling at speeds over 150,000 miles per hour, meteors burn brightly as they generate friction in our atmosphere, producing a gas trail that appears as a streak of light. in ; ' ., ?, . * V.’i ; *-im*. v," « i : 1 Rings of cosmic dust The comet probably consists of dust and ice. As the cofne^‘ ; -?\ nears the sun, iCe melts and minuscule particles are shed in a cloud that trails the comet along ttf&jjpjt-'V oMT/- ‘ - PPSfii On Sunday, Earth will pass through the meteor streams from 1767, 1699 and 1866. J; ;0he Orbit ever^ 33, years *V‘ - fhe;r forward Brian E ll-Stars Wednesfe anacK againsi as everyone was on the floor minutes. A&M ts off the bend), want to get ev i in the offense have nights wbe guys are set said. >rwi |N ATE Continued from Page 1A accused the Pro Traditions ilion of ramming through Sponsible legislation. Pearson said that the envhelming majority of fctors that supported the isolution indicated that the tnkte was speaking for the ptclent body. [I’m appalled at Jackman nuating that people who d for the resolution are of l(|wer caliber than those who osed it,” Pearson said, at’s low and irresponsible, on our badv/i® hi s personal attacks have . i can t desoibe ■^\ ace j n this debate.” in our p a\m J|^ t \ e( j n esday's meeting, !- u 1 ,ni Wporters tried a different tac- the conf traH I” bnn S lhe resolution to ould avoid f' ■* 1 oor th Division l^vin Capps, a senate otti- wouldn’l 10 1 an d sophomore history the standi®,to i | j or - said that with a two- 11 have a toP Ns vote, the senate could underdogs intW puss and vote on the bill dur- trastate rival, , Jug open session, which is usu- jused as a time for senators piscuss comments and ideas, fter the senate voted 37 to to discuss and vote on the jolution, debate began again. j“Two weeks ago, we ught the Bonfire 2002 |tion Resolution to the floor, as hotly debated and dis- sed and there were a lot of gs that it went through and lassed 39 to 13,” Capps said, ope that our feelings have J changed. We have been in. Evervdf >ugh a lot in order to § et il fthis point were we can speak behalf of the student body. I fk need to make sure that se in the administration w what the students want.” ■e fo 7^^l| Arguments made a g ainst resolution were made ause some senators were jicerned about the safety of fire 2002. My number one concern is ty. You and I want Bonfire eturn in 2002, but the fact ains that 12 students died. I rented to the authors of this lution today my concern r safety and it was not luded or amended into the d & c the Month ence Life mndl [elution. This is why I voted inst the resolution last time, loes not mean that I do not port Bonfire because I Jieve that [safety] should be ®fii top priority,” Senator ek Mercer, a sophomore itical science major, said. (After an extended debate iod ended, the resolution sed with a vote of 38-13 one abstention. )1 Aggipland is |I n other business, a new bus )ook, go to the Pte was proposed to the Bed McDonald Indent Senate in the West ur Student ID. Pmpus Bus Route Bill, ist year's Texas Jhator Daniel Pearson, who e 2000-2001 whored the bill, said that a purchase one Is route, called Wehner n 015 Reed Wpress, could be created by D a.m. to 4:30 Ps Operations to take stu- i Friday. Cash, Bnts from the Memorial lard, Discover Student Center and Fish Pond iccepted. ■ectly to Wehner via ■liversity Drive and then back ^to the MSC again. att.com /co 11 ege/e asy