We’re monitoring rain showers; now we’re checking the meteor showers. Meteors are sand-size particles released as residue from comets. Once a meteoroid hits the Earth’s upper atmosphere, it vaporizes, becoming a meteor. Should it survive and hit the ground, it is then called a meteorite. Tonight begins the Leonids, an impressive spray of meteors associated with the comet Tempel-Tuttle. They get their name from the location of their position in the constellation Leo, streaming from that point in the sky. In 1999, 2001 and 2002, the storms were spectacular but couldn’t compare to the Great Meteor Shower in 1833 that prompted Frank Perkins and Mitchell Parish to compose “Stars Fell on Alabama.” Fastcast: Warmer.
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