Meteor Storm Coming

KWYW News ^

[Sub-Driver]

Meteor Storm Coming

by KYW's Karen Adams People along the east coast, including in the Philadelphia region, are in for an astronomical spectacle Monday night into Tuesday morning. Forecasters are predicting not the annual Leonid meteor shower, but a meteor storm.

At the peak of a meteor shower you can usually see about 10 meteors an hour racing across the dark sky. But during a meteor storm, Wayne Adams, a sky watcher with the Bucks Mont Astronomical Association, says you see many, many more:

"This year they're predicting that we can see anywhere between three to five thousand meteors per hour at the peak."

The storm's expected to begin around 11 Monday night with earth grazers.

"Earth grazers are meteors that hit the atmosphere and skip along the atmosphere much like skipping stones on a pond," Adams says.

The best time to see the storm in the Philadelphia area will be 5:30 Tuesday morning. Adams says just face south and look about half way up from the horizon.

[RadioAstronomer]

I am not working tomorrow night Whooohooo!. I was in my control room all night last year. (Hope for no clouds :-))

[Scully]

We should set up a camera...

[PatrickHenry]

Tomorrow-night ping!

Keep me posted.

[petuniasevan]

Can you set up a cam? I think I'm going to get clouded out. :-(

[petuniasevan]

Meteor watch PING!

[Scully]

Keep me posted.

Oh, so now I'm a secretary, eh? Hmmm...betcha if I told you there was a bottle of Glenlivets in it for you, you wouldn't forget! :-)

[petuniasevan]

Actually what I meant was not to look straight toward the radiant. But yeah, looking straight up will crick your neck in no time and that's no fun.

Lying down on the ground makes it easier to watch the sky (though staying warm might be a problem).

[RedBloodedAmerican]

You're gonna ruin a good umbrella. Why not use a gravel guard off your truck? (get it? huh? huh?)

[Fzob]

Thanks for the heads up. I live south of Philly and leave for work about 5:30. Looking forward to the show if these cursed clouds will go away

[RadioAstronomer]

I am sorry I dont have the equipment here to do that. I pray you are not clouded out. :-(

[CarolAnn]

One thing that they should have mentioned is that this is these are the last Leonids worth watching for, for the next 98 years. I'll be watching in the Kansas countryside.

[logic101.net]

Damn; we never seem to get a good show in the midwest!

MARK A SITY
www.logic101.net

[CarolAnn]

"For the main small meteors, yes, it will be harder to see them with light pollution AND a full moon."

The moon will be quite far down to the west by that time, so try to find a place with a hill or some kind of obstruction like that to the west. That will help block any moonlight. I have my place staked out already. It has some nice thick woods directly to the west just a few feet.

[Larry Lucido]

Is that near Canis Major, Canis Minor, or the missing constellation Canis Abstentis?

[CarolAnn]

WooooHooo here too! Weather forcast for tomorrow night: "Clear skies. Low near 35F. Winds W at 5 to 10 mph."

Cold won't bother me because I'll be prepared. I've got a 10 year old Blaze I can curl up in the back of and open the back. I'll have two sleeping bags, a thermos of coffee, and two very large Weimeraners to keep me warm.

[Scully]

Here are a few links which may be of interest:

Leonid Meteor Shower Set For Nov. 19 (WDSU)

Leonid Meteor Shower Special Report

Near-Live Leonid Watching System

Observing the Leonids by Car Radio

[Larry Lucido]

I knew I'd screw that up. Abstentis = Absentis, of course.

[DainBramage]

I think its on the left side of Uranus.

[Larry Lucido]

No, that's an asteroid.

[RadioAstronomer]

Cool! :-)))