Hum Posted November 19, 2006 Share Posted November 19, 2006 Mid-November brings us the return of the famous Leonid meteor shower, which has a storied history of producing some of the most sensational meteor displays ever recorded. These meteors travel along the orbit of periodic Comet 55P/Tempel-Tuttle, and whenever that comet is passing through the inner solar system, the Leonids have a chance to provide us with a dramatic show. But the most recent passage of the comet around the sun came back in 1998, and we are now well past the favored time frame when, for several years running, observers in various parts of the world were witnessing very strong, even storm-level Leonid activity. That's why this weekend, when the Leonids traditionally should be at their most numerous, we normally would expect to see no more than 10 meteors per hour, even with the promise of excellent viewing conditions thanks to a new moon on the 20th. Still, for parts of Europe, Africa and eastern North America, a far more prolific Leonid show could be in the offing this year. The time of this year's encounter is predicted for Sunday at 4:45 GMT (11:45 p.m. ET Saturday). Other reputable meteor forecasters such as Thomas Van Flandern of the United States, Esko Lyytinen of Finland and Jeremie Vaubaillon of France confirmed in their own Leonid studies (to within minutes of McNaught and Asher's) that Earth would indeed encounter the 1932 dust trail again in 2006. full article Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jason S. Global Moderator Posted November 25, 2006 Global Moderator Share Posted November 25, 2006 damnit... i'll be asleep during it :p Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hum Posted November 25, 2006 Author Share Posted November 25, 2006 ^ er, Sorry. It was last weekend -- you missed it. :huh: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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