The Heavens on Fire: The Great Leonid Meteor StormsMeteor succeeded meteor in such rapid succession that it was impossible to count them; at times the sky seemed full of them, and the earth was illuminated as with a morning light. Eye-witness accounts such as this, and every spectacular detail of the Leonids, the greatest meteor showers of all, can be found in the acclaimed The Heavens on Fire. In this volume, author Mark Littmann vividly tells the history of meteors, and especially the Leonids, whose terrifying beauty established meteor science. He traces the history and mythology of meteors, profiles the fascinating figures whose discoveries advanced the field, and explores how meteors have changed the course of life on Earth. Crisp illustrations capture the excitement of past meteor showers and help elucidate important concepts. The returning Leonids are now reaching their peak with great activity expected in 1999 and 2000. For all those who wish to take part in this rare experience, Littmann offers advice on how and where to find the best view. Filled with practical tips, clear explanations, and descriptions of a sight that more than one observer has called "brilliant beyond conception," The Heavens on Fire will delight every reader. Mark Littmann teaches astronomy at the University of Tennessee. His previous books include Comet Halley: Once in a Lifetime and Planets Beyond: Discovering the Outer Solar System. Both books were chosen by the Astronomical Society of the Pacific as Astronomy Books of the Year. |
Contents
| 1 | |
| 13 | |
| 35 | |
| 53 | |
| 65 | |
| 83 | |
1866 the first predicted return | 101 |
The meteorcomet connection | 117 |
New horizons in meteor science | 191 |
Surprise 1966 | 205 |
Killer comets and disasteroids | 221 |
Catch a falling star | 253 |
Prospects for 1999 and 2000 | 269 |
The journey of a meteoroid | 301 |
Glossary | 313 |
Bibliography | 321 |
Meters for meteors | 145 |
The coming fire shower 1899 | 159 |
The worlds safest fireworks display 1932 | 173 |
Index | 343 |
Other editions - View all
Common terms and phrases
Adolphe Quetelet altitude American Journal appeared Astronomische Nachrichten August meteors author given body calculated celestial century Chladni Comet Biela Comet Tempel-Tuttle comet's orbit comets and asteroids debris December Denison Olmsted Denning distance dust Earth Earth's atmosphere Earth's orbit Elias Loomis falling stars fireball gravity Halley heavens Herrick January Journal of Science Jupiter kilometers Kuiper Belt Leonid meteor storms Leonid storm meteor observations meteor particles meteor science meteor storm meteor stream meteorites meteoroids meteors an hour miles million Moon near-Earth Newton night node November 13 November meteors object Observatory Olivier Olmsted's Oort Cloud passed path perihelion period Perseid planetesimals planets published Quetelet radiant radio reported Royal Astronomical Society Schiaparelli Science and Arts scientific scientists seen shooting stars skies solar system space speed swarm tail telescope tion Tom Gehrels trails traveling University Uranus vaporize velocity volume watch William Yale Yeomans York zodiacal light
Popular passages
Page 5 - I could hear from most of the negroes of three plantations, amounting in all to about six or eight hundred. While earnestly listening for the cause, I heard a faint voice near the door calling my name. I arose, and taking my sword, stood at the door. At this moment, I heard the same voice still beseeching me to rise, and saying ' O my God, the. world is on fire...
Page 11 - I beheld when he had opened the sixth seal, and, lo, there was a great earthquake; and the sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and the moon became as blood ; and the stars of heaven fell unto the earth, even as a fig-tree casteth her untimely figs when she is shaken of a mighty wind.
Page 79 - Its orbit, by a remarkable coincidence, very nearly intersects that of the earth ; and had the latter, at the time of its passage in 1832, been a month in advance of its actual place, it would have passed through the comet, — a singular rencontre, perhaps not unattended with danger.
Page 56 - I was called up about three o'clock in the morning, to see the shooting stars, as they are called. The phenomenon was grand and awful. The whole heavens appeared as if illuminated with sky-rockets, which disappeared only by the light of the sun after daybreak. The meteors, which at any one instant of time appeared as numerous as the stars, flew in all possible directions, except from the earth...
Page 36 - And oft, before tempestuous winds arise, The seeming stars fall headlong from the skies, And, shooting through the darkness, gild the night With sweeping glories, and long trails of light...
Page 5 - Upward of one hundred lay prostrate on the ground, some speechless, and some with the bitterest cries, but most with their hands raised, imploring God to save the world and them. The scene was truly awful, for never did rain fall much thicker than the meteors fell toward the earth; east, west, north, and south, it was the same.
Page 53 - Towards the morning of the 13th of November, 1799, we witnessed a most extraordinary scene of shooting meteors. Thousands of bodies and falling stars succeeded each other during four hours. Their direction was very regular from north to south. From the beginning of the phenomenon there was not a space in the firmament equal in extent to three diameters of the moon which was not filled every instant with bodies or falling stars. All the meteors left luminous traces or phosphorescent bands behind them,...
Page 28 - November 13 consisted of portions of the extreme parts of a nebulous body which revolves around the sun in an orbit interior to that of the earth, but little inclined to the plane of the ecliptic, having its aphelion near to the earth's path, and having a periodic term of 182 days nearly.
Page 14 - At Niagara the exhibition was especially brilliant, and probably no spectacle so terribly grand and sublime was ever before beheld by man as that of the firmament descending in fiery torrents over the dark and roaring cataract.
Page 99 - They vomit flames and blast the ripen'd fruits; They are death's messengers unto all those That sicken while their malice beareth sway. Orion. A tedious discourse built on no ground, A silly fancy, Autumn, hast thou told, Which no philosophy doth warrantize, No old received poetry confirms.
References to this book
A History of Physical Theories of Comets, From Aristotle to Whipple Tofigh Heidarzadeh Limited preview - 2008 |