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Scientists Fly to 2008's Most Dazzling Meteor Shower

Posted by samzenpus on from the follow-that-burning-rock dept.

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."

5 of 124 comments (clear)

  1. really? by mastershake_phd · · Score: 2, Insightful

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

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    1. Re:really? by timmarhy · · Score: 3, Insightful
      The real question is what can't you see from the ground, an the answer is SHITLOADS.

      light,clouds and smog obscure so much of the sky if you ever left your little suburban island you would be amazed at what the sky looks like.

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    2. Re:really? by SgtShavedBalls · · Score: 1, Insightful

      Even from a mountaintop, the view of meteor shows is incredible. I used to watch with binoculars wehn i was a kid. You caN'T SEE much of anything in a subarb, much less a citey. Seeing a meteor shower from a satelite would be spectacular. Maybe they'll have a webcam?

  2. Re:In Soviet Russia by JoeMerchant · · Score: 1, Insightful
    Oh, and about the cost....

    If you calculate the bureaucrats salaries for the time it took them to write up and propose this expedition, along with the "burdened cost" of the buildings, utilities, auditors, HR personnel, finance personnel, oversight, management, retirement and other benefits, etc. involved, the actual operational costs of the Gulfstream jet are trivial.... now consider that the "ground mission" would still carry most of the other costs, as well as a month's preparation on-site for the instrument crew, etc. etc. the differences are really not much at all.

    A small company with the necessary capabilities could carry off either mission for less than 10% of the cost, but think of all the people who would be out of work if these government agencies just left this work to the private sector.

  3. In Seattle... by symbolset · · Score: 2, Insightful

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

    In Seattle you can learn that the meteor shower is happening. In the Northwest getting above the clouds is almost your only hope of seeing such a thing.

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