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Coming Soon: Spectacular Meteors

 

> >By Elan Lohmann

> >

> >The United States can look forward to the most spectacular meteor

> >show since 1966 -- and it might be another 98 years before anything

> >so sensational will be seen again.

> >

> >The Nov. 18 Leonid meteor shower will be "very impressive, rare

> >and something that you'll want to see," said Peter Jenniskens,

> >a research scientist specializing in the study of meteors at the

> >NASA/Ames Research Center at California's Moffett Field.

> >

> >"The August Perseids meteor shower, which normally gets the most

> >annual astronomer attention, records a rate of about 80 meteors an

> >hour, but this November's Leonids will record a rate over 2000,"

> >Jenniskens said.

> >

> >Viewing conditions in the United States are expected to be sublime

> >this year. One reason for this is the new moon, which falls on

> >Nov. 18, when the sky will be its darkest.

> >

> >A typical Leonid shower yields about 10 to 15 meteors per hour,

> >but this year Jenniskens estimates the meteor shower will have as

> >many as 4,200 an hour at its peak. Viewers along the East Coast

> >will likely see the meteors fall directly from above, while in

> >the West they will shoot across the sky at an angle.

> >

> >The perfect viewing time is estimated to be between 4 and 6

> >a.m. EST, on Nov. 18.

> >

> >"It is a naked-eye event. All one needs is a clear dark sky away

> >from the city lights to enjoy the phenomena," Jenniskens said.

> >

> >For a sneak preview, a good resource is the Leonid Flux Estimator,

> >produced by the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence/NASA

> >Ames center. Tools on the site will calculate the best locations

> >for viewing, the optimal spots from any town and how active the

> >shower is expected to be in that area.

> >

> >The whole show should last 2 hours and create the effect of Earth

> >moving through a trail of dust, Jenniskens said.

> >

> >An ordinary meteor showers occurs when Earth passes through debris

> >left behind by comets. But this year, the Earth will be passing

> >through particularly dense ribbons of comet debris.

> >

> >The Leonid storm will occur when the Earth passes through a trail

> >of tiny dust particles left behind by Comet Tempel-Tuttle during

> >its passage in 1767.

> >

> >Tempel-Tuttle orbits the sun every 33.25 years, shedding dust

> >particles as it is warmed by sunlight. It first crossed the

> >Earth's orbit in 860 A.D. The earth passes through some of the

> >trail every year, but this year it will be particularly close.

> >

> >Jenniskens said the next major Leonid storm will occur again in

> >2099, which will be one of its last tours. "The comet will then

> >leave the Earth's orbit for good," he said.

> >

> >In November 1833, the show was so spectacular many eyewitnesses

> >feared the world was coming to an end. In 1966, Americans viewed

> >another excellent stellar show, while in 1999, Europe witnessed

> >an epic series of showers.

> >

> >Jenniskens will be participating in the NASA-sponsored 2001 Leonid

> >Multi Instrument Aircraft (MAC) mission, to be launched out of

> >Edwards Air Force Base.

> >

> >The 2001 Leonid MAC campaign follows a highly successful airborne

> >campaign during the 1999 storm visible throughout Europe, when

> >more than 4,000 meteors rained through the sky at its peak. It

> >was the first to be observed by modern observing techniques.

> >

> >"Only an airborne mission can bring scientists to the right

> >place at the right time to view the Leonids, and guarantee clear

> >weather," Jenniskens said.

>

>William T. P. Gairloch

>Systems Engineer

>The Pennsylvania State University

>University Support Building 2

>University Park, PA 16802

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Guest Pilau Hands

i saw it from 5:30 to sunrise. being where i am makes it a little hard to eliminate light around you, so i did the best i could. even in an open field, the sky has that orange glow ;)

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it was one of the most unbelievable things i've ever seen. i actually drove 2 hours from my house so i could watch it at an empty beach without being distracted by the city lights. i'd never even seen a shooting star before last night. it seriously made my entire outlook on life more positive.

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Guest SPLINTER

i got very little action here in cali. i was out till about 3:00am/PT and the peak was supposed to be 2:00am/PT here but i saw more from 2:30-3 but it was still not amazing, FUCKING CITY LIGHTS RUINED IT.

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good thing i read that cuz i thought i was hallucinating or somethin, i only saw two quick streaks , was tyte but didnt know if i was right ...

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I hiked up a rocky hill in a semi-rural spot and killed about two hours. It was a good show. Couple of big ones. I missed the biggest one, I was climbing some rocks in the dark and therefore looking down, but I could detect a flare of light behind me, enough so I could see the rocks slightly better for a second, and when I turned around I could see the slash that it left behind lingering for a few seconds. That's a big meteor.

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