Invaders from Space! Leonid Showers tonight.

Space.Com, Astronomy Magazine and The American Meteor Society all have tons of information, viewing guides and historical perspectives for you to peruse in anticipation of tonight Lonid meteor shower. Many are predicting a once in a lifetime event, as the Earth is expected to swing through 3 debris trails laid down by Comet 55p/Temple-Tuttle. One article mentions that up to 10,000 events per hour could be in the offing. So if you feel like staying up till 2am pst (10 ut) you'll be able to check it out. I know we've been hyping this event, but, well, we are okay with this.

Comments

Don't lose sleep

[Anonymous Coward]

Yes, the peak of the shower will be 3-4am (EDT), but there should be no distinguishable difference between midnight and 4am.

So, don't lose too much sleep (or coding time).

Re:Don't lose sleep

[Papyrus]

Actually, if the experts predictions pan out there will be an incredible difference in the quantity observed at midnight and the eastern US peak which is actually 0500-0530.

For instance the four major teams that are providing rate predictions show that between 2300-0200 you might see anywhere from 4-160 meteors per hour.

The predicted range per hour at 0500-0530 is 800-3500!!!

Quite a difference I would say.

Top Tips

[Cally]

...from an experienced meteor observer:

• Use a deckchair or recliner to avoid straining your neck. Without one you'll be in agony within 30 minutes.
  
• If nothing much is happening when you first start looking, remember that it takes at least 30 minutes for your eyes to adapt to the darkness. Meteors tend to come in short bursts of activity, followed by a quieter patch, so give it an hour or two.
  
• Don't expect the 4th of July! They're "just" ordinary shooting stars - it's just that the rates will be much much higher than normal. This also improves your chances of seeing 'bolides', aka fireballs - these are meteors that are so big that they disintegrate in a bright "terminal flash" - and persistent trains (smoke trails.)
  
• Remember that you won't see much before local midnight, as the earth has to rotate so that your location is on the side of the planet moving forward in the direction of Earth's orbit.
  
• If you are lucky enough to witness a major outburst, and you're an inexperienced amateur, don't worry about trying to calculate rates!
  
• In general, face in whichever direction gives you the best field of view, EXCEPT directly at Leo (the contstellation that gives the Leonids the name.) This is the RADIANT, ie the location that they will appear to radiate AWAY from.
  
• Don't use binoculars or a telescope - they restrict your field a view, whereas the naked eye can cover ~40% of the sky simultaneously. (You often see them best in your peripheral vision anyway.)
  
• Don't give up if it's a bit cloudy. Terminal flashes lighting up clouds from behind are truly spectacular, a Close Encounters of the 3rd Kind type sight!
  
• If you enjoy the experience, get into amateur astronomy - it's a fantastic hobby!
  
  

Clear skies, and good luck everyone!

friends in Asia -- watch for a big meteor shower!

[supernova87a]

There are actually two peaks in the meteors this year, one of them before dawn on the east coast here, and another one about 6-8 hours later which is supposed to be even bigger. People in the US will miss the second peak shower, but that means that if you're in Asia, you're in the prime viewing zone. Also, it's new moon, so there's no other light in the sky to diminish the view! Unless you live in a bright city, and then, oh well... (try to get out into the country if possible)

Get away from the light!

[Man of E]

If you want to find a dark spot near where you live, the International Dark Sky Association has a page of tools that estimate the brightness of the night sky. You need to know your latitude and longitude for the Java applet.

Conspiracy

[brocheck]

Perhaps it is just me, but the first thing that I thought after reading this article was:

This would be the perfect chance for THEM to come abduct a few people, probably rednecks, and then when people say: 'I SAW A FLYING SAUCER LAST NIGHT' the Men in Black would pat them on the shoulder and say, 'That was just the leonid meteor shower.'

I don't know about you, but I'm going to watch the skies--WITH A GUN.

Here's the estimator

[MagPulse]

http://leonid.arc.nasa.gov/estimator.html

It'll take your city or any latitude/longitude pair and give you an estimate. For my area, 1am shows about 0/hour and 4am is at over 3,000/hour.

Amateur Astronomy and Telescope Making

[goingware]

Let me use this opportunity to plug a fascinating and intriguing hobby, Amateur Astronomy and Telescope Making.

I made several telescopes when I was a teenager, and have recently taken up grinding glass again after a long hiatus. I was also pleased to find the Central Maine Astronomical Society is in my area and joined last night while visiting their new observatory.

Telescope mirrors can be made by hand with suprisingly simple equipment. An eight-inch diameter telescope will run you about $250, maybe less if you're creative, for the mirror kit, eyepiece, aluminizing, and mounting.

There may be a telescope making or astronomy club in your area. A good way to find out is to subscribe to the ATM mailing list. Another way is to follow some of these links:

• Chabot Telescope Maker's Workshop (Oakland, California)
• Sidewalk Astronomers (Los Angeles and San Francisco)
• Amateur Telescope Makers of Boston
• Stellafane - Springfield Vermont, where the hobby was started in the USA

Although it's helpful, you don't need to work with a club to make a telescope. I didn't for my first two. What you will need is some books, which you can buy from Willman Bell or Newport Glass. You will also need a kit that contains your mirror blank, abrasive, polishing pitch, and polishing abrasive. You can get those from Newport Glass or from Dan Cassaro. There are other suppliers of kits as well, or if you join a club you could buy the materials from another member.

If you don't want to build a telescope, you can buy one. The telescopes made by Meade and Celestron are well known. You can find ads for dealers in the pages of Sky and Telescope Magazine, which you'll find in many bookstores.

A large number of astronomy products may be found through the Astronomy Mall.

Although the price differential for small telescopes like 6 or 8 inches is not that great between making it oneself and purchasing, the cost of purchasing really large instruments is really prohibitive, while large ones are actually affordable to make, comparable to purchasing a computer. If you start off making an 8 inch mirror, your next mirror can be much larger, say 16 inches, and amateurs commonly make mirrors from 20 to 30 inches, and I think there is a 72 inch mirror nearly complete made by some amateurs. My goal is to have a 40 inch observatory in my backyard.

Although I've listed U.S. organizations and companies, telescope making is practiced world-wide. A while back someone from Iraq subscribed to the ATM list and asked for help obtaining a kit. There are lots of subscribers from Europe and a number from Asia and Africa. Follow the links, and maybe you'll find a club in your home town, or at least within a reasonable distance!

I cannot describe the awe that comes from beholding the wonders of the heavens through a telescope made with one's own hands.

Re:The lightshow rocked!

[Anonymous Coward]

Does anyone know what that abnormally bright star star shining in the (NYC) sky? Quite distinctive;

Jupiter is the bright "star" shining above your head. Venus is even brighter but hardly above the horizon in the East direction just before sunrise.

Just Got Back

[Quizme2000]

I just returned from the Serria Mnts. on the CA side near Truckee, I must of seen a couple of hundred really bright flashes, and about 5 red fireballs. I also noticed that I was not alone even though I was well off the beaten path. 20 or 30 observes stopped and watched from 1230am to 330am. So now I am back at work (in SF) with no sleep and a full plate of Java programming to do. I hope many of you tore yourself away from your new xbox long enough to venture a look see. Check my URL in a few days and I will post the images I got with my night vision equipment.