Already impressive Leonid earth-grazers, get out early...

VANITY | 11/18/01 | Me

[John H K]

Live here in Maryland, was not planning to start formal observing till 1AM..poked my head out the window for 5 seconds at midnight and saw the longest-trained meteor I've EVER seen (and I've spent a fair amount of time meteor-observing, though I'm not hardcore.)

Was a Leonid "earth-grazer" fireball that literally extended from horizon to horizon, and passed directly overhead...bright green, only exceeded in brightness by some of the fireballs from the Leonid Fireball Storm of 1998 (some of which lit up the countryside like daylight when they exploded.)

Leo is barely below the horizon here...you get "earth grazers" when a shower radiant is barely at the horizon..the meteors will have very long trails and skim overhead. You see a lot fewer meteors but the ones you do see are spectacular, so you may want to get out at midnight wherever you are to see the earthgrazers.

Also, it is entirely possible for the peak predictions to be off...by even several hours. If you're setting an alarm clock for 4:55AM or 3:55AM in the Central Time Zone, etc...be aware you'll miss the earthgrazers and could actually miss the peak....predictions have been badly off before...

[Squantos]

Thanks for the alert, I'm fogbound here in Panhandle of Texas and headed out the door now for drive over to Texas-New Mexico Border on I-40. Sat maps seem to show clearing there. I'll pop back in on the laptop and cell hookup if it gets good from here............I sure hope it does.

Stay Safe !

[longshadow]

Thanks for the heads-up.

The lawn chair is standing-by, and the sleeping bag is being warmed up...... weather is CRYSTAL CLEAR in New England.

[hc87]

Thanks. I'm heading out now.

[Howlin]

Are you near any light at all?

[Howlin]

You stay safe!

[prisoner6]

THHHHHHHHHTTTHHHHPPPPPPPPTTTTTTTT!

Hey, don't rub it in! Here in Pittsburgh, and pretty much all of Western Pennsylvania, The Fog is thicker than Janet Reno's glasses.

prisoner6

[Ymani Cricket]

NASA Streaming Audio

It's pretty jammed up right now, but there it is.

[Ymani Cricket]

Might find some other places to view it on the web by browsing around the Nasa site. One's that aren't jammed, that is. NASA main site

[Colorado Doug]

Check this link for best times in your area. The applet will tell you what time is best for you to watch and how many you should be able to see. Nasa Super Duper Flux Estimator

[Brad’s Gramma]

The Fog is thicker than Janet Reno's glasses.

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA

[timestax]

#@&*%$Fog also here in Cincinnati suburb area. Well at least I saw the Northern Lights two weeks ago!!

[mdittmar]

I'mmmm innn eastern Washington and have been lookinggg but haven't seen anyyy yet.

It's coldddd out.

[patriciaruth]

Thanks for the heads up..

We're on the West Coast, but we'll take a peek now.

[NY.SS-Bar9]

50 mi N of NYC @ 12:45 - about one every 5 -10 minutes VERY impressive. Long streaks through the sky. Don't know if I can get up at 4 AM tho....

[Amelia]

In coastal Georgia - I went outside for about 10 minutes a bit ago, & saw two LONNGGGG streaks...very bright.

[Fury]

Clear as a bell in New York and have seen some really bright falling stars. Very nice.

[RightWhale]

Somewhat hazy in Fairbanks. Temperature 4 deg F. No meteors. Peak is supposed to be in 4 hours.

[DKNY]

On my way out the door....clear night here in New York.

[John H K]

It's a rural area of MD, but a basically suburban development (completely crime-free) but full of retards with billion-candlepower security lights..so I rarely have ideal conditions or can see the Milky Way..but the brighter Leonids can be seen ANYWHERE where you can see ANY stars at all..people get the impression they should never bother looking at an astronomical event..be it meteors or aurora..unless they live 100 miles from the nearest town or something..this is not the case...bright auroras or fireball meteors can be seen almost anywhere.