Meet The Leonids

Kathy Miles writes "The Leonid meteor shower is promising to be a 'once in a lifetime event.' It's not hard to photograph meteors, a simple 35mm camera that you can lock open the shutter on works fine. Here's complete instructions for 35mm, video and digital cameras.And, on the same site is information such as lore and myth, best way to watch meteors and times and skymaps for all US timezones. Happy Meteor watching!" And Geert Barentsen writes "As the adrenaline for the final Leonid meteor storm (November 19th) rises, one site seems to do a call to everybody to count the meteor activity and help science. With a few thousand meteors predicted per hour, it's going to be a busy night for true geeks :-)" Kevin Smolkowski writes "For the second year in a row, NASA will have Live Coverage of the 2002 Leonid meteor storm on Monday. Perfect for those of you surrounded by city lights. The all night show is hosted by NASA astronomers. They'll offer observing tips, answer phone calls from sky watchers, and tour the skies with a video camera located at the Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC) in Huntsville, Alabama." Update: 11/18 22:40 GMT by T : McGravin writes "Everyone should also keep an ear on the extraplanetary visitors, too. I'm going to go add some ear-flaps to the tin foil helmet that protects my brain from them, so I can hear the meteors."

Comments

This year's once-in-a-lifetime event

[RangerSpeedBumpp]

Wasn't last year's Leonid meteor shower also a once-in-a-lifetime event? I thought this was more like an ~80-times-in-a-lifetime thing.

Re:This year's once-in-a-lifetime event

[Big Mark]

It really IS this time. It's gonna be a big one, as the trail of comet debris (left kindly by Tempel-Tuttle, IIRC) that forms this shower is really, really close this year, and it won't be remotely as good for another thirty years or so after the debris trails start getting further away from the Earth's orbit. Not exactly once-in-a-lifetime, but still. I like meteors.

Speaking of which, it's 10:30PM here. I'm off to the beach to watch things and drink flasks of tea.

See this while you can.

[Jasn]

If you're not surrounded by insane light pollution ... make a point of watching this while you can. It may not be the same for years, maybe decades ...

Tip for Photography

[frostgiant]

I have done astro photos before and here is good tip when using a SLR camera:
To avoid wobbling the camera as you press the cable to start the exposure, just hold up a sheet of black paper in front of the lens. After the cable is dangling freely, remove the paper. When depressing the cable, do the same.

Also, for anyone with a Sony DV camera, the AE Candel Light mode works great for filming the showers.

Finally!

[FPhlyer]

Everyone said I was crazy when I moved 30 miles out from the city. Now, with no city lights, I'll have a perfect view of the shower! Won't all of my friends be jealous! ...Oh yeah. None of my friends care about meteor showers...

Taking photos.

[James_G]

A very wise thing for you to do is to go out on a clear night BEFORE the Leonids peak and experiment with film and find a good place to set up.

Well shit. It's a bit late for that now. Oh well, I'll try and remember that in 30 years when the next one comes around.

Wrong audience

[flatface]

Asking Slashdotters.. To go outside.. I don't know if this is an insult or a mistake.

Links for each time zone:

[c0dedude]

Eastern Time Zone
Western Time Zone
Mountain Time Zone
Pacific Time Zone

Re:Links for each time zone:

[BeeShoo]

I live in the Central Time Zone, you insensitive clod! ;-)

Central Time Zone

I'm impressed

[sys49152]

For the second year in a row, NASA will have Live Coverage of the 2002 Leonid meteor storm

I wonder how they did this last year. Or did Nasa finally perfect its tachyon transceiver?

poor kid

[Anonymous Coward]

Anybody notice the stock photo in the NASA page? This picture. I think it's supposed to representing watching TV, but it's really a sad social commentary.

Here's a young boy, ready to go outside and move and run and play. He's got his cap on, and he's got his football under his arm.

But instead of choosing to play in the sun and use the arms and legs nature gave him to enjoy himself, he sits sullen and emotionless in front of a TV.

He chooses the bland garbage spewed forth by the corporate-run media, enticing him to stay on the couch, not to question authority, not take care of his health. They hope to sell him fast food, video games, and heart medication when he grows up.

Really quite sad.

Alternate explanation #1:

This poor little girl wants to play with her dolls and talk with her friends. But her father is a violent man, who regrets never having had a son before his wife's untimely demise. He forces her to hold a football and watch the game on TV. If she resists, she is soundly beaten. She quietly assumes the role of the son her father never had.

Really quite sad.

Alternate Explanation #2:

It's raining and the game was just cancelled.

Really quite sad.

Good night to test radio propagation

[Nonillion]

This will provide some interesting propagation on the VHF and UHF ham bands. Hopefully I'll be able to stay awake long enough to work a few stations on the ionized trails the meteors leave behind..

hahah...

[TheGreenGoogler]

"For the second year in a row, NASA will have Live Coverage of the 2002 Leonid meteor storm on Monday" How exactly can you have 2 years of coverage of the 2002 Leonid meteor storm?

Great from a plane

[YetAnotherAnonymousC]

I happened to be on a flight a few years ago (I think 1999) when it was a good year for the meteor shower. The show is even more fantastic from up above the clouds. The many colors you could pick out easily paid for the fare of the flight by itself, not that I planned it that way.

Too bad I can't justify getting up in a plane this year for the shower.

Phew!

[Subcarrier]

Asking Slashdotters.. To go outside.. I don't know if this is an insult or a mistake.

So that's what this is all about? All this talk about a shower was making me nervous.

Here's the site to give you the best time to view

[Phoenix-kun]

Go to this site to determine the best viewing time for your location and the predicted count.