They thinned out to about 21 by 0730 GMT Wednesday, according Rob Suggs of NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama. Astronomers have predicted the most shooting stars in a two-hour salvo Wednesday night over North Africa, the Middle East and Europe. In Wisconsin, Iowa and Illinois, residents phoned authorities with reports of fireballs and suspected plane crashes. It's the meteor shower. ALSO Scientists take to the air to chase Leonids Worried Ohio residents swamped the Columbus airport with calls about a possible flaming aircraft.
Scientists say they likely saw an asteroid or satellite unrelated to the showers.
The Leonid shooting stars can dart anywhere overhead, but they all appear to come from the direction of the constellation Leo, which gives the annual shower its name. Where to View Go to an open area, away from trees and city light. Allow 30 minutes for your eyes to adjust to darkness. Although the Earth passes close to the orbit of Tempel-Tuttle every year, usually not much happens. The Earth plows through a diffuse cloud of old comet dust that shares Tempel-Tuttle's orbit, and the debris burns up harmlessly in Earth's atmosphere.