Leonids are coming! (we think)
The earth is again expected to enter the trail of dust left by Comet Temple-Tuttle for this year's Leonid meteor shower!
Unfortunately for North Americans, the latest prediction from the IMCCE in France (endorsed by NASA) is that the peak of the meteor shower, which will be on Nov. 8th around 23:30 GMT (5:30pm CST), will only be visible in eastern Europe and western Asia at a rate of 50 to 100 per hour.
Previous to this latest prediction, online sources including Sky and Telescope were expecting the annual meteor shower to occur closer to November 17th at only a rate of 15 to 20 per hour.
This latest Leonid prediction is based on recalculations by the IMCCE using older dust trails of Comet Temple-Tuttle comet than before, which makes it more likely for a more intense meteor shower.
From my location in Austin, Texas, I'll be watching on both dates just in case. On both Nov. 8th and 17th I'll be getting up at at 3:00am CST to look towards the constellation Leo, which will be towards the east just over the waning crescent moon.
Technically, you don't watch a Leonid meteor shower by looking at Leo. You put Leo behind you and look directly overhead to catch the streaks in the sky coming from Leo. Here's a good S&T article on how to observer a meteor shower.
Have fun!
Unfortunately for North Americans, the latest prediction from the IMCCE in France (endorsed by NASA) is that the peak of the meteor shower, which will be on Nov. 8th around 23:30 GMT (5:30pm CST), will only be visible in eastern Europe and western Asia at a rate of 50 to 100 per hour.
Previous to this latest prediction, online sources including Sky and Telescope were expecting the annual meteor shower to occur closer to November 17th at only a rate of 15 to 20 per hour.
This latest Leonid prediction is based on recalculations by the IMCCE using older dust trails of Comet Temple-Tuttle comet than before, which makes it more likely for a more intense meteor shower.
From my location in Austin, Texas, I'll be watching on both dates just in case. On both Nov. 8th and 17th I'll be getting up at at 3:00am CST to look towards the constellation Leo, which will be towards the east just over the waning crescent moon.
Technically, you don't watch a Leonid meteor shower by looking at Leo. You put Leo behind you and look directly overhead to catch the streaks in the sky coming from Leo. Here's a good S&T article on how to observer a meteor shower.
Have fun!
posted by Dan at 1:07 PM
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