For many decades, amateur astronomers have made a note to look towards the northeast during the early morning hours of Nov. 18. That's the time of the Leonid meteor shower, originating from Earth passing through the residual trail of Comet Temple-Tuttle.

As Earth's atmosphere hits the dust in a comet trail, we'll see more than the usual number of meteors. For spotting these, the unaided eyes are ideal, as they can take in a very wide view of the sky. And meteors appear at their best when you see their trail against the entire sky. You can find an in-depth look at the shower and its research by visiting NASA's website on the Leonids at http://leonid.arc.

nasa.gov/

Sky watchers have recently been treated to a reminder about how unpredictable comets can really be. Comet Holmes, initially seen by Edwin Holmes back in 1892, has been regarded as a rather obscure comet drifting in its orbit between Mars and Jupiter. That impression changed about two weeks ago as Comet Holmes, receding from the sun, underwent a brightening - changing its luminosity by a factor of almost half a million.

This has resulted in the comet reaching naked-eye visibility in the constellation Perseus. Observations of Comet Holmes show an expanding debris field that's larger than the planet Jupiter. How the comet came to erupt like this is unclear; a break-up of the comet's structure, out-gassing of volatile material on the comet, and a direct hit on the comet by a meteoroid have all been suggested as causes.

Recent views at our star parties haven't shown much of a tail, but our position in relation to the comet contributes to this, as we're basically looking down the comet's tail. For more information about Comet Holmes and finding it, check out http://cometography.com/pcomets/017p.html or www.

skyandtelescope.com

For more star hopping during the fall season, Pegasus' square form is a good place to start.

Pegasus' two more prominent stars, Markab and Scheat, contrast in their behavior. Markab is a good example of a white, main-sequence star; stable and with a large proportion of its lifespan remaining. Scheat belies this stability by continually undergoing an irregular cycle of changes in brightness. Observers can't be sure how exactly it's going to change from month to month, making Scheat a popular target for variable star studies.

Above Markab and Scheat is an interesting collection of galaxies marked by the position of NGC 7331, a spiral galaxy that can be seen with binoculars from a dark viewing site. Viewing with a telescope begins to reveal NGC 7331's splendid formation, with the core, arms and dust lane within the reach of many amateur telescopes.

It's as close to a textbook display of a spiral galaxy that we can see in the sky. In fact, NGC 7331 used to be pictured in depictions of what the Milky Way would resemble if we were to look at it from a distance. Immediately next to NGC 7331 are the "Fleas" - four additional galaxies that begin to show once you turn a medium-large sized telescope on them.

Just to NGC 7331's southwest is a collection of five galaxies commonly known as Stephan's Quintet. There has been some controversy into the relation, if any, between these five galaxies. The majority opinion among astronomers believes that there isn't any - that we're looking at a chance alignment. But the debate continues to a certain extent, owing to uncertainty about the true distance of each galaxy from us.

Above the galactic collection is Lacerta, the Lizard. Like Equuleus that I mentioned in my last column, Lacerta is a dim, modestly sized constellation. It used to be referred to in other names, such as the Sceptre or the Hand of Justice, according to some medieval European accounts. The ancient Chinese had their own idea; the stars of Lacerta, along with much of Cygnus, were incorporated into their Flying Serpent.

From the visual perspective, the northern part of Lacerta is within the Milky Way, worth a scan with binoculars. And during August and September, a look to this constellation could spot a meteor stream known as the Lacertids.

Contact us at 766-6048 or e-mailing to mcgettis@peak.org.

if you gaze

Interested in a telescope view of Comet Holmes, NGC 7331, Uranus or any other great cosmic views? Then visit Heart of the Valley Astronomers at our next Star Gazing night. If the sky is clear, we will set up our scopes at 5:30 p.m. Saturday at Adair County Park. Dress warmly and come enjoy the night sky with us. Find directions and more information at our website, www.hvaastronomy.com.