<!--intro-->"Last year's Leonid meteor storm yielded rich research results for NASA astrobiologists," said Dr. Peter Jenniskens, a NASA astronomer based at Ames Research Center and principal investigator for the airborne research mission. "Findings to date indicate that the chemical precursors to life -- found in comet dust -- may well have survived a plunge into early Earth's atmosphere."<!--/intro--> Jenniskens and his international cadre of researchers think that much of the organic matter in comet dust somehow survived the rapid heating of Earth's atmospheric entry. "Organic molecules in the meteoroid didn't seem to burn up in the atmosphere," he explained. They may have cooled rapidly before breaking apart, he concluded. Another manner in which organic matter can somehow survive the fiery plunge into Earth's atmosphere was discovered by a team from the Aerospace Corporation, Los Angeles, who detected the fingerprint of complex organic matter, identical to space-borne cometary dust, in the path of a bright Leonid fireball. This "fingerprint" is still under investigation to ensure that trace-air compounds are not contributing to the detection. Another finding with potentially important implications for astrobiology is that meteors are not as hot as researchers had previously believed. "We discovered that most of the visible light of meteors comes from a warm wake just behind the meteor, not from the hot meteoroid's head," said Jenniskens. This warm wake has just the right temperature for the creation of life's chemical precursors, he said. Utah State University researchers found that, during the meteors' demise in the atmosphere, their rapid spinning caused small fragments to be ejected in all directions, quite far from the meteoroid's head. This is an important finding for astrobiology, because it means that meteors may be able to chemically alter large amounts of atmosphere. This year, the 2000 Leonid meteor shower is expected to peak twice -- once on Thursday night November 16 and again on Friday night November 17. Although not as strong as last year's storm, meteors will be visible across the continental United States, with the East Coast predicted to provide the best meteor viewing. Each night, optimal East Coast viewing will be at approximately 2:50 a.m. (EST). West Coast observers can glimpse the showers beginning after 11:00 p.m. (PST), and peaking between midnight and 1:30 a.m. Astronomers recommend that, because this year's showers take place during a last-quarter moon, optimal observing conditions demand a wide field of view, with the moon behind trees or buildings. Astrobiology is the study of the origin, evolution, dissemination and future of life in the universe. NASA's Ames Research Center, in the heart of California's Silicon Valley, is the Center of Excellence for NASA's astrobiology research. It is also the location of the central offices of the NASA Astrobiology Institute, an international research partnership - among NASA and non-NASA agencies and institutions - to further astrobiology research.
