Leonids Meteor Shower 2009

[Emi Chan]

November 17 around 1:30am EST (sunrise) should be a pretty spectacular sight for the Leonid's shower. Will anyone try to take in this event? It seems the conditions are going to be fairly decent for anyone viewing this tonight in North America. With more than 70% of the U.S. experiencing clear skies and also 1% crescent moon during our new moon phase it may be well worth braving the cold weather to view ^.^ NASA is estimating over a hundred bombardments on the Earth’s atmosphere per-hour but with Leonid's high unpredictability rate we can see numbers spike far beyond 100 with the right set of conditions and see a nice continuous stream that should look very nice. These showers are always worth viewing and very impressive and I see them every year and they have yet to let me down. ^.^ Here are a few meteor shower viewing tips that some may find helpful. If you live near a brightly lit city, drive away from the glow of city lights and toward the constellation from which the meteors will appear to radiate. For example, drive north to view the Leonids. Driving south may lead you to darker skies, but the glow will dominate the northern horizon, where Leo rises. Perseid meteors will appear to "rain" into the atmosphere from the constellation Perseus, which rises in the northeast around 11 p.m. in mid-August. After you've escaped the city glow, find a dark, secluded spot where oncoming car headlights will not periodically ruin your sensitive night vision. Look for state or city parks or other safe, dark sites. Once you have settled at your observing spot, lay back or position yourself so the horizon appears at the edge of your peripheral vision, with the stars and sky filling your field of view. Meteors will instantly grab your attention as they streak by. The best way to view If you can see each star of the Little Dipper, your eyes have "dark adapted," and your chosen site is probably dark enough. Under these conditions, you will see plenty of meteors. What to bring. Treat meteor watching like you would the 4th of July fireworks. Pack comfortable chairs, bug spray, food and drinks, blankets, plus a red-filtered flashlight for reading maps and charts without ruining your night vision. Binoculars are not necessary. Your eyes will do just fine. For those who will view, happy shower watching ^.^

[Oneironaut Zero]

Thanks for this, Emiko. Will definitely be watching.

[Emi Chan]

Anytime I'll view them tonight for sure. If you're viewing and I'm viewing then we will be watching them together Huggies ^.^

[slash112]

Would the UK be able to see it at some point?

[Emi Chan]

Asia will have the best seats by far and Europe will for sure have an above average performance. NASA is predicting while the U.S. should see at least 100 or so per-hour, Europe should see anywhere between 130 and 180. Asia will have the best show this year with 500 + predicted per hour. The reason the numbers will be so much higher in Asia is because the Earth will cross a pair of streams left by Tempel-Tuttle in 1466 and 1533 C.E. This cross between the two streams will be in accordance to the Spin of the Earth putting China and Indonesia in a front viewing field for a pretty awesome display. ^.^ Europes display will be best an hour or 2 before sunrise.

[Jeff777]

Thanks Emiko! So the 1:30 AM EST time, - is that for those in the US as well?

[Emi Chan]

Yup at 1:30 a.m. The entire eastern seaboard will be able to see the showers if conditions are good and there are no cloud density. We have been tumbling through the streams since November 13 but we are now tumble through a more intense portion of the stream tonight ^.^ So no matter where you are in the U.S. from 1:30am (your time) until right before sunrise 6:00 or 6:30am you should see a very hefty portion of showers. The Moons transitioning new phase will make it even much more exciting to see.

[slash112]

Nice. Only problem is clouds, we got full cover right now, and I don't see it going away. Assuming the 1:15am EST is the same everywhere (well, I read that europe gets the end of it), I will set my alarm for 6:15am for my time. I hope the clouds go away. ... I got a bad feeling I'm gunna miss it.

[Emi Chan]

I hope you could catch it I'm taking my camera out with me tonight so if I can get a good shot of one or a few I'll upload them ^.^

[slash112]

Nice.

[Taosaur]

I'm trying to decide if it makes more sense to get up early or stay up late. I get up at 5:45am anyway, so maybe skip the peak and get up early to catch a bit of it... It's looking partly cloudy at worst.

[Bearsy]

I'm trying to see them... I don't know if I'll be able to though... I'm in a city that wontonly pollutes the sky with unnessesary light. If I see 10 stars a night that's a lot.

[Oneironaut Zero]

Anytime I'll view them tonight for sure. If you're viewing and I'm viewing then we will be watching them together It's a date. I saw one, but I only had a few minutes before the clouds rolled in. I'm going to go back out and check again, in just a little bit.

[Jeff777]

Me, Josh and Ana were on the phone while we were watching. Josh saw several, I saw one blaze across the sky and Ana saw none. We stayed out there for an hour. I was hoping for much more.

[Rozzy]

I froze my butt off, and got thorns in my foot. I was stalked by a mystery man, and I saw nothing. I am sad.

[AmazeO XD]

I'm going out in a bit and taking a look.

[Spartiate]

Perfect clear night in eastern Canada. I parked myself on the deck for a little over an hour and saw a good meteor every 5-10 minutes with a few fainter ones in between. I saw a nice long fireball that broke apart in the air, but overall, I've seen better in previous years... (good luck Asia)

[Rozzy]

O.O Rozzy RAEGES!! I saw a building, and some clouds, oh, and it was exciting when I saw a flickering thing that was a plane. It was so cool sitting on a chair with goat heads in my feet, cold air in my face, and a building all up in my face. I didn't even see a meteor...

[Taosaur]

No Leonids for Taosaur It was too hazy and way too much light pollution. The only thing visible in the sky was one (1) satellite.

[slash112]

Woke myself up early to see, but it was cloudy. Then later on when the sun was out and there was no clouds, I THINK I saw a couple, but it was to hard to tell if I was just seeing things or not, it was so faint. I'm so bummed I missed it.

[Emi Chan]

I watched it as well earlier this moring around 2:00am and I did see a few consistantly at one point and then a long period of nothing. I have to agree with Spartiate, I've seen others in previous years that were better. The clouds came in on us sometime close to 3:30am so we didn't stay to long. My friends in Japan says they had a very good viewing, in which they were actually out viewing the showers around the time that I created this thread yesterday ^.^ I'll see if I can have them send a few photos.

[khh]

While you people were out watching the skies, I sat indoors in a lecture hall hearing about differential equations. No fair.

[Emi Chan]

While you people were out watching the skies, I sat indoors in a lecture hall hearing about differential equations. No fair. Awww Do not worry you will have another opportunity this year to see a shower. The first week in December I am going to create a thread for the Geminids meteor shower that we will pass through on December 13 and 14 2009. The Leonids have been known to have a high frequency producing large numbers of meteor on occasions but the Geminids are by far the most beautiful to see, with 65% being white, 28% yellow and 11% green, red and blue. Also December 13 marks the moons phase at a 2% waxing crescent, which means if the skies are clear then it should be quite a nice view with little to no moonlight obstruction^.^ The Geminids also has a very high frequency as with each year the frequency count of meteors viewed has increased. So if it stays consistant we should see quite a few beautiful meteors in the skies. ^.^ Mark you calender.

[slash112]

Awww Do not worry you will have another opportunity this year to see a shower. The first week in December I am going to create a thread for the Geminids meteor shower that we will pass through on December 13 and 14 2009. The Leonids have been known to have a high frequency producing large numbers of meteor on occasions but the Geminids are by far the most beautiful to see, with 65% being white, 28% yellow and 11% green, red and blue. Also December 13 marks the moons phase at a 2% waxing crescent, which means if the skies are clear then it should be quite a nice view with little to no moonlight obstruction^.^ The Geminids also has a very high frequency as with each year the frequency count of meteors viewed has increased. So if it stays consistant we should see quite a few beautiful meteors in the skies. ^.^ Mark you calender. Woa, do you know if the UK will be able to see it?

[Emi Chan]

Yes the U.K. will be able to see it as well as the rest of the entire Northern Hemisphere. You will be able to see them 6 or so hours before the U.S. I'll post some good viewing information for the U.K also in the next thread. ^.^