Meteors

My gym friend Kevin is an avid astronomer, and when I saw him on Friday, Nov. 16, he urged me to check out the Leonid meteor showers the next morning. They'll be at their peak, he told me, at 4:30 a.m.
So I set the alarm, and sure enough before sunrise I got out of bed, wrapped my fleece bathrobe tightly around me, put on my glasses and shuffled outside in my slippers. (The dog let out a few barks in surprise but then retreated into her doghouse.)
What a breathtaking sight! There were zillions of stars shining against the inky sky: Orion was unmistakeable, high up in the western sky, and the Big Dipper was low in the northeast. I stood outside for 20 minutes and saw only one meteor, a quick flash almost overhead, but the sight of the stars and Jupiter, Venus and Saturn was well worth leaving my warm bed.
If you're curious about the constellations, I highly recommend "The Stars: A New Way to See Them" by H.A. Rey (yes, the Curious George guy). My copy is seriously dog-eared from frequent use.
And by the way: What is up with the phrase "a meteoric rise"? Meteors don't rise; they fall.