Scientists Fly to 2008's Most Dazzling Meteor Shower

coondoggie writes "On Thursday, SETI Institute and NASA scientists will take their research instruments and their coffee for a 10 hour continuous flight to map what they say will be the earth's most brilliant meteor shower of 2008. Scientists believe the Quadrantid meteor shower could flash over 100 visible meteors per hour at its peak, depending on location. A Gulfstream V aircraft will take off from San Jose, Calif., and fly 14 scientists and their instruments for 10 continuous hours at 47,000ft., over the Arctic and back to San Jose. The primary goal of the lengthy airborne mission is to observe the Quadrantid meteor shower in ideal and virtually unchanging conditions far above light pollution and clouds to determine when the meteor shower peaks and how the flow of meteors are dispersed."

Comments

In Soviet Russia

[Smordnys s'regrepsA]

Meteors watch you!

Seriously, though, what's wrong with watching from an area on the ground that has low Light Pollution? Does it not cost enough?

Re:SETI Scientists?

[Anonymous Coward]

Don't complain. Any sort of shower those SETI scientists can get is a good thing.

Re:SETI Scientists?

[SetupWeasel]

At least they will finally see something.

Re:SETI Scientists?

[JContad]

Knowing the type of people to be SETI scientists, they're probably looking for Bukkake Of Galactic Proportions.

(Hint: I'm kidding.)

Because

[mfh]

Flying a plane into a meteor shower just seemed like a scientifically brilliant thing to do. Haven't these guys seen a Hollywood movie ever? The rocks will smash the plane into bits!

We know you have your choice of airlines

[Dachannien]

Also, the in-flight movie will be Armageddon. Headphone rental is five dollars.

Re:We know you have your choice of airlines

[ZX3 Junglist]

I can't help but think of the first Mountain climb I ever did. It was with my middle school teacher, and we took a coach bus on the 3 hour trip.

His choice for a movie? K2, the one where people die climbing a mountain. I suppose he was a sick bastard, after all.

Re:really?

[Kristoph]

What can you learn about a meteor shower from 47,000ft that you can't learn from the ground?

You can learn if you have what it takes to fly at 47,000ft, at night, above the arctic, while flaming stones fall all around you.

]{

Re:Star Light, Star Bright

[Obvius]

Do you mean decimal? Because there aren't any units of revolution, neither metric nor imperial. Although I suppose the imperial unit of revolution should really be the Lenin.