OCT 27, 2003 - The 2003 Leonid Meteor Shower promises a special treat, with a double pass this year. Or so says Bill Cooke at NASA's Space Environments Group. If he's right, that gives us all two chances to catch the show in a couple weeks or so, on November 13 and 19. The first night sends Earth through comet Tempel-Tuttle's dust trail from 1499, and should be good for anywhere from a few to a few dozen meteors per hour. It should be even better the second time around, when on the night of the 19th Earth passes through the comet's 1533 detritus: with luck and given the right location, you could spot a few score meteors per hour that evening. (Check The 2003 Leonid Meteor Shower for prime viewing times and locations.) This won't be the kind of really spectacular meteor swarm the Leonids have produced in years gone by, but to paraphrase the old blues song, even a bad meteor shower is better than none at all. So be there, or be deprived.
