WHEN A SHOOTING star streaks across the sky, it is time for a quick wish. But you might want to prepare a long list of wishes since you may be kept busy with thousands of shiny little things flashing in front of your eyes next week.
Astronomers are predicting a dramatic Leonid meteor shower early on the morning of November 19. During its peak, up to 10,000 meteors, or shooting stars, per hour could light up the sky.
The last such phenomenon was recorded on November 17, 1966, when shooting stars 'showered down' at a rate of about 150,000 per hour. The one in 1998 was a big surprise - about 600 fireballs appeared a day earlier than predicted, leaving a group of early birds in Hong Kong with an unforgettable experience.
'There are numerous meteor showers every year, such as the Perseids in August and Geminids in December,' said Hong Kong Space Museum assistant curator Wong Yiu-wah. 'Leonids occur in mid-November.'
But do not be misled by the name. The shooting stars do not really originate from Gemini or Leo constellations - it is only an allusion. In fact, the Leonid meteors 'shoot out' from a comet called Tempel-Tuttle, named after Ernst Tempel and Horace Tuttle who discovered it around 1865.
Comets are believed to be large chunks of ice - they also contain bits and pieces of rock and dust. When they come close to the sun, the ice starts to melt, leaving a trail of 'space debris' behind.
As the Earth passes their orbits, this debris is attracted by the planet's gravity and comes shooting at a high speed. The heat generated from the gravitational pull often burns up the rocks and dust before they hit the Earth.
