Astronomy Picture of the Day 11-18-02

NASA ^ | 11-18-02 | Robert Nemiroff and Jerry Bonnell

[petuniasevan]

Astronomy Picture of the Day

Discover the cosmos! Each day a different image or photograph of our fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation written by a professional astronomer.

2002 November 18 The Car, the Hole, and the Peekskill Meteorite Credit & Copyright: Pierre Thomas (LST), ENS Lyon

Explanation: The Peekskill meteor of 1992 was captured on 16 independent videos and then struck a car. Documented as brighter than the full Moon, the spectacular fireball crossed parts of several US states during its 40 seconds of glory before landing in Peekskill, New York. The resulting meteorite, pictured here, is composed of dense rock and has the size and mass of an extremely heavy bowling ball. If you are lucky enough to find a meteorite just after impact, do not pick it up -- parts of it are likely to be either very hot or very cold. In tonight's possibly spectacular Leonid meteor shower, few meteors, if any, are expected to hit the ground.

[petuniasevan]

The chances of a meteorite colliding with your car (or you) are, well, ASTRONOMICALLY small.

I think the owner sold the damaged car for a nice sum.

[petuniasevan]

[cdefreese]

So, when will be the best time to see the showers tonight?
And which direction would be best to look toward?

[petuniasevan]

You're in Atlanta, right? Peak meteor viewing should be around 5:22 AM local. Be out there at least an hour earlier and keep watching.

There will be a moon, but it will be near setting and shouldn't pose too much of a problem. But get away from city lights, streetlights, etc. The meteors will seem to come from the southeast; the radiant is in the constellation Leo. Here's a diagram for 3AM:

As you are at latitude 34 north, the constellations will be slightly farther north from your point of view. Don't stare right at the radiant; the view is better when you look 45 degrees away to see the long meteor trails. (45 degrees would be like turning south or east to watch).