Night Sky: Leonid Meteor Shower to Peak Nov. 18

By PETER LIPSCOMB

Perhaps more than any other natural resource, the night sky has informed and inspired humankind for centuries. Examples of its influence can be found in spiritual practices, the performing and visual arts, literature and architecture.

As we examine the landscape of our world, few places look as they did thousands of years ago. Much has been altered due to weather, geologic forces or human-caused change. But, when we gaze into the heavens at night, we view the sky of our ancestors. The positions of the stars and the patterns they display appear just as they did to others long ago.

Our ancestors possessed and depended upon a comprehensive understanding of the stars and cycles of the seasons. That knowledge helped them navigate uncharted lands or waters, prepare for spiritual practices and ceremonies, plan for farming and manage food stores through the winter months. The sky was essential to our species’ survival — without the success of our ancestors, none of us would be here today.

Around the globe, everyone shares the rhythm of day and night. Political boundaries divide nations, languages separate cultures and worship follows different traditions, but we all live under the same sky. Lovers find solace knowing that a missed companion will see the same stars come nightfall. In times of war and peace, adversaries have an identical view of the night sky. Night equalizes our lives and provides a common denominator to the human experience.

Our fascination with the beauty of the starry night sky is no accident. The molecules in our bodies and in all living things have more in common with the stars than with the planet we creatures inhabit. The types of atoms basic to life more closely resemble what is found in space than in the elements below the surface of the Earth.

Without stars, life as we know it would not be possible. A version of Joni Mitchell’s song "Woodstock" puts this idea to music "We are stardust, we are golden, we are 10 billion-year-old carbon."

Celebrate your connection to the stars this weekend by observing the annual Leonid meteor shower. Estimates predict that the peak of the shower will occur during the wee hours of Nov. 18.

The Leonid meteors are debris shed by the passing of parent comet 55P/Tempel-Tuttle. While we don’t expect a repeat of the "storm level" display of 2001, there will be favorable conditions while the waxing gibbous moon sets around midnight and the constellation Leo begins to rise from the eastern horizon.

Layer up with some extra clothing, take along a comfortable chair and get out to the darkest sky you can find.

Contact Peter Lipscomb at plipscomb@nmheritage.org.