Reported by Ravi Shroff.
It was the night of Tuesday 17th November, or so can be said early morning on 18th November 1998, what we expected would be the most spectacular celestial event as the earth would be passing through the debris of the comet "Temple Tuttle". This happens once in every 33 years.
The debris of the comet consists of small particles, size ranging from grains of sand to about the size of a pea. As these small particles entered the earth’s atmosphere they would burn out due to the high velocity with which they approach (approximately 70 kilometers per second). This burning would cause us to see meteors in the sky.
I was very excited about the "Leonid Meteor Shower". Due to pollution Mumbai very often does not have a clear sky, so I decided to go to my farm at Vangani (120km from Mumbai) to see the meteor shower with a couple of relatives & friends.
The peak shower was expected to be starting at 2:10 AM on the 18th. We would be able to see nearly 1000 meteors per second, if the meteor shower would turn out to be as expected. And all of these meteors would seem to be approaching from the constellation Leo (that’s where the name "Leonids" comes from).
At the farm, we had a big turn out. We had expected about 15 people and landed up to be nearly 60 (the reason was obvious). The sky was cloudy & there was a small drizzle at around 12:00 AM. Everyone had their fingers crossed hoping to see what they had come to see. It stopped raining & everybody had taken his or her places. The telescopes were all setup in the usual manner.
We had the honour of having with us Shri Deepakbhai Bhimani, President, Amateur Astronomers Association. The sky charts were rolled out & we located the position of constellation Leo. At about 2:45 AM the skies cleared out somewhat & we saw the first meteor. Then onwards till about 4:00AM the total count had only gone to 8 meteors & the sky got clouded again. Disappointed by the fact that we could only spot 8 meteors in about an hour & also the fact that the sky was clouded again, many people headed back to sleep. All of these 8 meteors were shooting in random directions & didn’t seem to be approaching from Leo.
But I waited on. I too was not satisfied with what I had seen & obviously wanted to see something more. As luck had its way for me, the skies cleared out again at about 4:35AM.
And at 4:45AM it started. And this time they all appeared to come from Leo. By then Leo was almost at 60°. From then on until it twilight, there was no stopping. It wasn’t exactly a shower but it was definitely phenomenal. I counted nearly 40 of them & missed a few. I think the final count of what I saw & what I didn’t see (that’s what the other’s saw) turns out to be approximately 60 & that definitely is a BIG number for one night!
Came twilight & daybreak. It brought an end to what was supposed to be the most spectacular celestial event of the century. Though these meteors could be seen for almost a week, but the peak only comes once, once in 33 years. I got news from my uncle, Mr. Dipesh Shroff, that the meteor shower was seen in different colours in the Rann of Kutch. In fact the event was spectacular after all!