Do The Leonids Present Any Hazards?
Most of the Leonids weigh about 1 millionth of a gram — not much more than a particle of cigarette smoke. Normally, objects this size would pose no threat to spacecraft. However, when they are travelling many times faster than a bullet from a high velocity rifle, the threat increases significantly. Since the velocity of the meteor impacts is affected by a spacecraft’s motion as it orbits the Earth, hits could occur at any speed between 65 and 80 km (40 and 50 miles) per second. These could result in some physical damage in sensitive areas as well as electrical short circuits, plasma discharges, and computer malfunctions, which may be sufficiently serious to disable a satellite. A form of sand-blasting can erode outer surfaces such as thermal blankets, mirrors and solar cells. Large impacting particles may even knock a satellite out of its normal position, as happened to the European Space Agency’s Giotto spacecraft during its 1986 flyby of Halley’s Comet. “These microparticles could p
