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Leonid Meteor Shower - Event of the Year!
by Cathy Hall
From: meteors (meteors@comcast.net)
To: NAMN (meteors@comcast.net)
Subject: 2002 Leonids!
Date: Fri, 15 Nov 2002 10:24:38 -0500
Leonid Meteor Shower - Event of the Year! North American Meteor Network November 2002
What are the Leonids?
The Leonids are a very special display of 'shooting stars'. They are
a
sight of a lifetime when they storm, and they are predicted to storm
in
large numbers in 2002. These meteors are debris from Comet
55P/Tempel-Tuttle.
When are they visible?
Leonid meteors can be seen from November 14th to 21st. However,
there will
be several peaks of much higher activity during this time. One of
these
peaks occurs about 11 p.m. EST on Monday November 18th, with perhaps
1000
meteors per hour visible to the unaided eye. Observers in Europe
will see
this peak better, but eastern North Americans should see part of it.
Then
another peak time starts about 5 a.m. EST on Tuesday November 19th,
with
rates of perhaps 6000 meteors per hour! This is the big peak for
observers
all over North America!
Where should I go to watch the shower?
Get out of the city if possible. There is a full moon, that will hide
fainter meteors from your view, but city lights will blind you to many
fainter meteors as well. Try to block the moon - and any lights
around
you - with a building, a tree, or even a dark umbrella!
Where in the sky will the meteors seem to come from?
The meteors will seem to come from the 'sickle' of Leo, if you trace
them
back. However, they can be seen anywhere in the whole sky.
How many meteors will I see?
This is always a surprise! Predictions for the first peak are around
1000
meteors per person per hour. Predictions for the second peak are
around
6000 meteors per person per hour. These are predicted rates with a
dark
sky, no moon, and Leo right overhead. So, in that regard, we will
see fewer
meteors than this. However - the meteor researchers also tell us
that they
could be wrong in their predictions - and that just maybe - we might
see
many more meteors than this! Nobody will know what really happens
until we
all go take a look! The Leonids are an incredible meteor shower -
take a
look at some of the best photos from last year's display:
http://www1.nisiq.net/~numazawa/nippou/leo01e.html
Where can I get more information about the Leonids?
The NASA Leonid MAC site:
http://leonid.arc.nasa.gov/index.html
MeteorObs, a worldwide internet forum for meteor observers:
http://www.meteorobs.org
The North American Meteor Network:
http://www.namnmeteors.org
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