Leonids

[ralphmelton]

The Leonid meteors are Monday evening/Tuesday morning this year. I quote:

This is the last year in a window of several years in which Leonid storms are possible; these windows come around every 33 years, but the next *two* look bad. So it'll be 99 years before they might be this good again; this is the last time in our lifetimes when there may be a Leonid storm. Last year, they were fogged out here, but fantastic if you drove to where it was clear. Unfortunately, the full moon happens right during the peak this year, but if the meteors live up to expectations, we'll still see quite a show, weather permitting.

The Leonids will appear on the evening of the 18th-19th (Monday evening/Tuesday morning next week). In the last several years, there has been a major breakthrough in predicting Leonid meteor peaks. This year, there are two predicted Leonid peaks. The first arrives over Europe at 4:00 Universal Time (UT) [11pm Pittsburgh time; we might see some grazing meteors come up over the eastern horizon]. The second appears over North America beginning about 10:30 UT (5:30 a.m. EST). This should be the main show for us here.

I don't know if I want to bother to try to see them. On the plus side: best Leonids storm in a century. On the minus side: cold and sleep deprivation.

I feel kind of shabby that these two factors are so closely balanced for me.

(More info at http://SkyandTelescope.com/observing/objects/meteors/article_719_1.asp )