ODESSA, NOVEMBER, 11TH, 2008, CONTEXT-PRICHERNOMORIE – In the night of 17th-18th one can watch a thousand of “shooting stars” – the meteors of the flow Leonids in Odessa sky, IA “Context-Prichernomorie” correspondent reports.

This was reported to the agency correspondent today, on November 11th, during the telephone talk by the senior scientific employer, Candidate of Physics and Mathematics, the head of the meteor group of the astronomical observatory of ONU by I. I. Mechnikov Yury Gorbanev.

By the words of Y. Gorbanev “the inhabitants of Earth planet can watch this star rain from November 9th to the end of November but the peak of this phenomenon falls on November 17th – 18th. By the forecasts of the scientists from 70 to 100 flashed per hour are expected. Everything depends on the weather conditions”.

Also the head of the meteor group added that the astronomical observatory of ONU in Krizhanovka settlement tracked such star rains all year round, and the meteor flow Leonids was also observed.

“In December the next meteor flow Demenid is expected which will come from the side of Gemini constellation. This flow is characterized by numerous peaks that fall on approximately 13th, 14th and 17th of December”, Y. Gorbanev noted.

INQUIRY: Leonids is the most studied meteor flow which appears annually in November from the side of Leo constellation.

This meteor flow is formed as a result of discharge of substance from the comet Tempel-Tuttel that approaches the Earth orbit every 33 years. Fine particles of grain size are burned in the earth atmosphere thus creating a star rain.

The astronomic observatory under Imperial Novorosiysk university was opened on August 15th 1871. In 1920-1933 after liquidation of the university in Odessa the observatory received the status of Odessa state astronomic observatory of the National educational commissariat of Ukraine. In 1957-1960 the observatory was the main establishment in USSR in studying of meteor phenomena, fulfilled three commissions of the International Astronomic Unity of studying of variable stars. In 1993 the observatory received the status of the research institute of I category under Odessa university with keeping of the professional name “Astronomic observation”.