Travelers all over the world have a chance to check out the Leonid meteor shower, which is set to peak tomorrow morning, November 17th.
In a live online chat today, Bill Cooke with the Meteoroid Environment Office at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center answered questions regarding the Leonid shower and gave some insight in to the best viewing scenarios.
Here is a quick breakdown of best viewing times in regions around the globe:
North and South America: The best viewing times will be between midnight and dawn tomorrow morning, November 17th. Find a place away from city lights, then “look up and slightly east,” Bill says.
Asia: “Between 2:00 and 5:00 am on the morning of the 18th depending on the time zone.” Asia will experience the best of the Leonid shower, between 200-300 visible in an hour. If you happen to be in India, “peak will occur about 3:15 a.m. IST.”
Europe: “Leo [will] rise about midnight, and you should see Leonids beginning then. Max 25 per hour just before dawn,” Bill informs us.
Australia and Antarctica: If you are traveling down under, you will be able to see the shower between midnight and dawn, “but barely” Bill tells us. “The Leonids appear to come from the Constellation Leo...[which] doesn’t rise very far above the horizon” in Australia. The South Pole is left completely out and will not see any Leonids.
Bill Cooke answered several other questions about the shower. He confirmed that it in no way interfered with the Atlantis shuttle launch. He thwarted ideas that this was a sign of doomsday in 2012 and eased one participant’s fear of UFO activity by saying, “Don't expect a mother ship appearance.”
Visit NASA for more information about the 2009 Leonid Meteor Shower.
Comments
I live up in northern Minnesota, there is little light pollution here and every year I have had an amazing view of the leonids showers! I decided to setup a couple cameras with live feeds to share my view with others. If you’re interested you can check it out at my website here: www.tinyurl.com/watch-leonid-meteor-live
Africa?
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