Leonid Meteor Shower 11/17

Wow-- it looks like the Leonid meteor shower will be an impressive show for most of the world this year (sorry, Europe and Africa-- prime-time for you guys is during daylight hours). Asia gets the big show (the Earth is passing very close to the main stream of debris this year), but North America is passing through a dust stream that should yield a high number of streaks-per-hour, aided by the new moon on the 16th.

One thing I'm totally confused about: some sites (reliable) say that prime viewing will be the midnight between the 16th and 17th; other reliable sources say that best viewing time will be starting around the midnight between the 17th and the 18th. Does -anyone- know which is correct? I wish they would all list times with a 24-hour clock...

One site said that: "About 12 to 14 hours before the main event, Earth is forecast to sideswipe a stream of dust that was loosed from the nucleus of Comet Tempel-Tuttle in the year 1567, passing to within 188,000 miles of the stream’s center. This interaction could provide modest activity for North Americans."

That would mean that the midnight between the 16th and 17th is prime time for North America-- the actual peak (when we pass through the thickest part of the dust stream of the Tempel-Tuttle comet) is around noon on November 17th (giving Asia the best viewing time of the shower).

If you have a night-vision scope you can see a constant stream of meteors!

Thanks to Maiya and her Facebook post for the heads-up!

Leonid Meteor Shower 11/17

Wow-- it looks like the Leonid meteor shower will be an impressive show for most of the world this year (sorry, Europe and Africa-- prime-time for you guys is during daylight hours). Asia gets the big show (the Earth is passing very close to the main stream of debris this year), but North America is passing through a dust stream that should yield a high number of streaks-per-hour, aided by the new moon on the 16th.

One thing I'm totally confused about: some sites (reliable) say that prime viewing will be the midnight between the 16th and 17th; other reliable sources say that best viewing time will be starting around the midnight between the 17th and the 18th. Does -anyone- know which is correct? I wish they would all list times with a 24-hour clock...

One site said that: "About 12 to 14 hours before the main event, Earth is forecast to sideswipe a stream of dust that was loosed from the nucleus of Comet Tempel-Tuttle in the year 1567, passing to within 188,000 miles of the stream’s center. This interaction could provide modest activity for North Americans."

That would mean that the midnight between the 16th and 17th is prime time for North America-- the actual peak (when we pass through the thickest part of the dust stream of the Tempel-Tuttle comet) is around noon on November 17th (giving Asia the best viewing time of the shower).

If you have a night-vision scope you can see a constant stream of meteors!

Thanks to Maiya and her Facebook post for the heads-up!

Leonid Meteor Shower 11/17

Wow-- it looks like the Leonid meteor shower will be an impressive show for most of the world this year (sorry, Europe and Africa-- prime-time for you guys is during daylight hours). Asia gets the big show (the Earth is passing very close to the main stream of debris this year), but North America is passing through a dust stream that should yield a high number of streaks-per-hour, aided by the new moon on the 16th.

One thing I'm totally confused about: some sites (reliable) say that prime viewing will be the midnight between the 16th and 17th; other reliable sources say that best viewing time will be starting around the midnight between the 17th and the 18th. Does -anyone- know which is correct? I wish they would all list times with a 24-hour clock...

One site said that: "About 12 to 14 hours before the main event, Earth is forecast to sideswipe a stream of dust that was loosed from the nucleus of Comet Tempel-Tuttle in the year 1567, passing to within 188,000 miles of the stream’s center. This interaction could provide modest activity for North Americans."

That would mean that the midnight between the 16th and 17th is prime time for North America-- the actual peak (when we pass through the thickest part of the dust stream of the Tempel-Tuttle comet) is around noon on November 17th (giving Asia the best viewing time of the shower).

If you have a night-vision scope you can see a constant stream of meteors!

Thanks to Maiya and her Facebook post for the heads-up!