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Leonid Meteor Shower Hits Tonight, Peaks Tomorrow

Posted by timothy on from the prepare-for-mere-whelming dept.

Though expectations for a spectacular show may be low, the Leonid meteor shower is on the way. For those in the continental U.S., late Monday night into Tuesday early morning will be your best chance to catch a few glimpses. Space.com explains why you might see only a smattering of meteors: This year finds Comet Tempel-Tuttle nearing the far end of its elongated orbit. In 2010, the comet crossed the orbit of Uranus and in 2016 it will be as far from the sun as it can get: 1.84 billion miles (2.96 billion km). That's not only where the comet is, but also where the heaviest concentrations of meteoroids are as well. In contrast, at the point in the comet's orbit where we will be passing by on Tuesday morning, there is nothing save for a scattered few particles; stragglers likely loosed from the comet's nucleus a millennium or two ago. So the 2014 Leonids are expected to show only low activity this year; "maybe" at best 5 to 10 Leonids per hour might be seen.

20 comments

  1. wtf by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0, Funny

    hi slashdot! watch out for the asteroids near uranus! HAHAAHAHAHAH

    1. Re: wtf by O('_')O_Bush · · Score: 1

      Aaaand... I cut myself flossing. Thanks laughter.

      --
      while(1) attack(People.Sandy);
  2. Leonid? by TechyImmigrant · · Score: 1

    I'm not Leonid! I'm Spock, the actoor.

    --
    I should use this sig to advertise my book ISBN-13 : 978-1501515132.
  3. This is the WORLD wide web. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    There's no sense using terms like "late Monday night" when that could easily be "mid Tuesday afternoon" to the reader. Even in the USA, where I assume the poster is as they're the worst culprits for not telling proper time, there are enough timezones to cause problems.

    1. Re:This is the WORLD wide web. by TapeCutter · · Score: 4, Informative

      In my experience the "peak" doesn't matter much, the best strategy is to go out for half an hour or so over the next few days when Leo is visible in the sky, after midnight local time is always preferable since the meteors will be hitting the atmosphere square on.

      --
      And did you exchange a walk on part in the war for a lead role in a cage? - Pink Floyd.
    2. Re:This is the WORLD wide web. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      From the summary: "For those in the continental U.S., late Monday night into Tuesday early morning...". Reading comprehension, folks.

    3. Re:This is the WORLD wide web. by radarskiy · · Score: 1

      The local observable peak is dependent on the local time (some time between midnight an sunrise), so "Monday night" is actually what you need to know except if you are close to the International Date Line.

    4. Re: This is the WORLD wide web. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Dude I totally agree with you what's with the vague times givin for when the meteor shower is supposed to hit there's too much of a time gap to know when to go out and look for it without getting stuck looking for it all night long. what if it doesn't happen until the last five minutes of the time they gave out for possible sightings I still want to attempt to see it but the vagueness of timing they gave is really annoying

  4. Usually a non event by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Despite having ventured outside numerous times over a period of maybe 40 years, I never, ever saw a single Leonid. So, these things are much overrated. I have seen multiple meteors on random other occasions. So that leads me to conclude that the Leonid periods have even less meteors than normal.

    1. Re:Usually a non event by TapeCutter · · Score: 2

      I've lost count of the number of Leonids I've seen since I saw my first (and best) leonid shower in the late 60's (17 thru my bedroom windows in about an hour). Saw a nice slow moving green one last night from my hotel balcony in Broome, completely accidental, it was only after I spotted it that I remembered what the date was. Having said that, the easily accessible dark sky here in Oz does give me an unfair advantage.

      --
      And did you exchange a walk on part in the war for a lead role in a cage? - Pink Floyd.
    2. Re:Usually a non event by Quirkz · · Score: 1

      I've tried occasionally, with only rare luck. The thing is, between the often iffy late fall weather and the cold, this isn't my favorite shower to try to watch, anyway. I've had better luck camping out in the open air on a non-shower night when it was comfortable, and just watching the sky for a while. Maybe my impressions are skewed by anecdotal evidence, but it often seems like meteor watching is more a function of time and comfort than catching the peak of a recognized shower.

      I would also like to thank the scientists involved for, just once, admitting that a show probably won't be that exciting. I'm pretty sure this is one of the first articles I've ever seen that didn't use hype or "could be one of the best ever" lines.

      --
      The Quirkz Handbook of Self-Improvement for People Who Are Already Pretty Okay
  5. I, for one, welcome our new russian overlords! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    > Leonid Meteor Shower Hits Tonight

    Imagines a massive salvo of SS-18 Satan nuclear missiles impacting USA, each one decorated with the beautiful portrait of Leonid Brezhnev, supreme soviet leader. Capitalism will cease to exist and no more will man exploit man. It will be the exact opposite from tomorrow!

  6. Spent Weekend In Joshua Tree by skatull · · Score: 1

    Saw about 20 last night, more than double the usual count of an average night in the Mojave desert. No colors, some very long trails.

  7. Standard amount of meteors by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Isn't 5-10 meteors an hour about what you'd get on any random night?