Leonid!

[alsih2o]

here come the meteors kids!

anyone else a sucker for this yearly light show?

we live out in the country, so my backyard will have people in it for the next 3-4 nights watching....

 

[boxstop7]

I got so jazzed up for the show this year...apparently it's the last time for the next 30 or so years that the Leonids will be falling as a storm instead of a shower. However, there's supposed to be a full moon, which will block out somewhere around 70% of the shower's dimmer meteors. And for the icing on the cake, 'round here the peak of the shower is just before dawn. Dawn is somewhere around 7:00 am right now, and I just realized I have a major business exam at 8:00 that morning. So it's looking like no Leonids for me this year, which just depresses the hell out of me. I was looking forward to dragging my girlfriend out of bed at 4:00 am and claiming a spot on the mountain to watch some fireballs. Woe is me!

 

[Piratecat]

Do they start tonight or tomorrow night?

 

[Castellan]

Best viewing time is likely to be around 5:00 AM ET. The Moon will be very low at that point, and we should be able to see more.

Last year, during a 15-minute window around 5:15 AM, we counted 1,800 meteors!

Make sure you're away from light pollution, though.

 

[Castellan]

Do they start tonight or tomorrow night?

Best viewing is the morning of the 19th. You should be able to see a growing number over the next few nights, but it's not going to be anywhere near as good as it might be on the 19th. Mind you, prediction of this kind of thing is sketchy at best. The shower might end up being a dud, but it's worth a shot.

Good luck!

 

[alsih2o]

Do they start tonight or tomorrow night?

officially, they are underway : http://www.msnbc.com/news/835525.asp

 

[Mistwell]

It is really too bad that the full moon will obstruct viewing a bit from North America.

 

[boxstop7]

Now they're predicting a big ol' rain/snow storm for my area over the 18th and 19th. As of now, it's not looking good for central PA. Evidently, some higher power doesn't want me to see the Leonids this year. (insert string of expletives here)

Oh, and this link should provide all the information one may need:

http://www.space.com/leonids/

With any luck, the rain and snow will hold off for a day. And for those of you lucky dogs that actually get to see the show...take pictures! There were some great shots taken by amateurs in Italy during last year's shower.

~Box