#87187
11/18/2002 2:50 PM
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Joined: Mar 2001
Posts: 4,189
Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Mar 2001
Posts: 4,189 |
The last major meteor shower of our lifetimes will occur tonight between the hours of 11 pm and 6 am in Europe and North America. 600 or more meteors an hour are possible, and this year they expect more fireballs than last. Last year's display was a star-show I'll never forget! At times there were dozens zig-zagging across the sky at one time. And this one fireball came in so intensely over the treeline that I swore it was a spaceship! This year, however, the full moon may dim out some of the weaker streaks, but I'm sure it will still be worth a look. The most briiliant display is predicted to occur over the British Isles. Find a dark area (preferably a park or beach well away from city lights). Dress warm and bring a blanket or lounge chair to recline on to survey the heavenly panorama. This is definitely worth staying up late, or all night, for (the show peaks at 11 pm in Europe; 4-6 am in North America with 5:30 am the highlight here...but you can start enjoying the show at 11 pm here in NA as well)...what I saw last year was beyond my wildest imagination. Here's the story: http://europe.cnn.com/2002/TECH/space/11/18/leonids.meteors/
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#87188
11/18/2002 6:52 PM
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Joined: Aug 2000
Posts: 2,204
Pooh-Bah
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Pooh-Bah
Joined: Aug 2000
Posts: 2,204 |
Yep, WO'N - I've got the coffee machine primed up to make a couple of flasks of the stongest, and Mrs Rhuby and I are heading up to the hills behind where I live to get away from the light polution.
We've just had the fireworks of Guy Fawkes Night, but this show promises to leave the man-made baubles in the absolute cold.
Thank goodness it's a really clear night over here (at the moment - but atill three houra to go: anything could happen in that time, so fingers crossed.)
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#87189
11/18/2002 7:05 PM
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Joined: Mar 2001
Posts: 4,189
Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Mar 2001
Posts: 4,189 |
Enjoy, Rhuby! I went to Belleplain State Forest with the South Jersey Astronomy Club Skywatch last year...but this year I think I'm going to opt for the beach...unfortunately, there's a lot more light pollution around here than there used to be (especially with the security light fad and Atlantic City's despicable glare up the coast), but the vast expanse of sky at the beach is just such a beautiful panorama that I want to have that experience, too. May a flood of meteors pass your way! 
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#87190
11/18/2002 7:29 PM
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Joined: Aug 2000
Posts: 2,204
Pooh-Bah
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Pooh-Bah
Joined: Aug 2000
Posts: 2,204 |
... and may all of them miss both of us, good friend! 
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#87191
11/18/2002 8:18 PM
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Joined: Mar 2000
Posts: 6,511
Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Mar 2000
Posts: 6,511 |
We have the great fortune to live deep in the country (well, "misfortune" some of the time, but). If the sky is not too overcast, they may indeed overshadow (???) last year's, which were nothing to sneeze at.
merrily mixing metaphors....
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#87192
11/18/2002 8:37 PM
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Joined: Mar 2001
Posts: 4,189
Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Mar 2001
Posts: 4,189 |
...yes, it would certainly be nice if all of them decide to burn out before they reach the ground!
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#87193
11/18/2002 9:56 PM
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Joined: Sep 2001
Posts: 6,296
Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Sep 2001
Posts: 6,296 |
Thanks, W'On for the post. We're way out in the country with wide open fields. I'll go to bed early tonight, get up at four, and head on out to the fields to see what there is to see. According to your link, 5:30 a.m. should be the best time here when the moon should be low in the sky, and I hope it will have descended behind a stand of pines.
Will report back tomorrow.
Excited,
WW
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#87194
11/19/2002 2:26 AM
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Joined: Mar 2000
Posts: 11,613
Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Mar 2000
Posts: 11,613 |
I think I'll take my chances now.
Exited,
JF
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#87195
11/19/2002 2:30 AM
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Joined: Mar 2001
Posts: 4,189
Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Mar 2001
Posts: 4,189 |
Heading down to the beach for an early peek...mebbe a dozen an hour right about if we're lucky.
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#87196
11/19/2002 10:01 AM
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Joined: Sep 2001
Posts: 6,296
Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Sep 2001
Posts: 6,296 |
Good Morning, W'On
I was out and about in the back fifty acres from 5:20 to 5:40 a.m. EST. Saw about 20 or so--most likely more--during that period, but assume I missed a lot because sometimes when turning my eyes from one part of the sky to another, I'd catch the tail end of one. I tried lying on my back, but the frost-covered field grass was hard, uncomfortable, and very cold even through a heavy coat. The best way to look above the mostly southern field was leaning against a support on the grape arbor, my neck supported there.
There were ones with green tails, some golden and some nearly white. I could have sworn one of the green ones seemed to wiggle its plumped-out smoky tail--but that could have been (most likely) my vision moved around herky-jerky by my trifocals. The long bright ones were the most splendid, but I liked best the green-appearing ones, one, two, or three--my mind may be multiplying the recalled effect.
Surprising was the fact that they appeared over such a broad expanse of the sky--quite unpredictable in where the next would appear. And they moved in different directions, some from north to south, some falling right down due west. Not knowing much here, I'd expected them to all be moving in the same direction, but that was not the case.
I only saw a couple come into view at the same time. It would have been wonderful to have had some kind of remarkable movie camera that could have recorded the entire sky all at once throughout the night. Wonder whether that's possible?
Thanks, WO'n, for the heads-up to get our heads up. Won't forget that twenty minutes on this brisk morning for a meteor spree. Coffee never did taste better.
Best regards,
WW
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#87197
11/19/2002 7:37 PM
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Joined: Mar 2001
Posts: 4,189
Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Mar 2001
Posts: 4,189 |
(Good Morning! Got in at 7 am...woke up around 2:30 pm. ) Sounds like you caught 'em at their peak, WW! This year they peaked at about 60 per hour, much less than anticipated, but still a worthy and rare event. Last year, at that time, they were peaking at an incredible 800-1,000 per hour! I took a look down the beach at about 11 pm, and it was a bit hazy with bright moonlight and other light reflecting, and by 12 midnight I didn't see a thing...chatted with a friend I met down there for awhile and headed back to the house to warm-up. (last year at this time we were already seeing about a dozen per hour). Went back down at about 2 am and in 45 minutes I only saw one fireball and another smaller flash...and it was even hazier. So I decided to head out to Belleplain State Forest (a 20 minute drive) and join the South Jersey Astronomy Club Skywatch. Glad I did. The sky really started opening up after 3 am, and we saw a couple really nice fireballs, and there were a few times when there were multiple meteors zig-zaggin across the sky...but nothing like last year. But it was still a treat and plenty worthwhile to see, (even in the 18° cold...brrrr!). One of the guys there said at about 11-11:30 they had a peak of activity with some nice fireballs, but I couldn't see them at the coast, so it was a good choice to head up there. They also had the telescopes set-up and Venus, which you saw rising over the western horizon, was unusually bright this night, and through the lens you could actually see that it was in crescent, like a quarter moon! (I never knew, until this, that the planets went through phases like the moon) And sometime between 5-5:30 am that vehicle you may have seen traversing the sky straight overhead past Jupiter, from NW to SE, was the International Space Station! (as pointed out by one of the astronomers there) I never knew you could see it so vividly with the naked eye. So, even though the meteor-show fell below expectations, it was still an amazing display as far as meteor showers go. And another treasure of memory to roll out on some dreary day! The stars are cool! I love this stuff!
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#87198
11/19/2002 8:18 PM
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Joined: Mar 2000
Posts: 6,511
Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Mar 2000
Posts: 6,511 |
I love this stuff! Me, too. It was cloudy and overcast at both ends.  But I'll always remember last year.
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