Leonid Meteor Shower Makes Waking Up Early Worthwhile
Posted: Monday, November 16, 2009
by Abigail Richards
I am not a morning person, but there is something to be said about waking up early to watch God's firework show.
One of the most amazing meteor showers will take place in the pre-dawn hours on Nov. 17. Of course, those in Asia will have the best view seeing a predicted 200 to 300 meteors per hour. Can you imagine what the sky will look like over Asia?
The science behind where the Leonids come from follows.
According to space.com, The Leonids are created by the comet Swift-Tuttle, which passes through the inner solar system every 33 years on its orbit around the sun. Each time by, it leaves a new river of debris, mostly bits of ice and rock no bigger than a sand grain but a few the size of a pea or marble. Over time, these cosmic streams spread out, so predicting exactly what will happen is difficult.
My suggestion is to pull out the sleeping bags, drive to a dark spot and lay back for the show.
Space.com says that Earth will pass through one of the denser debris streams at around 4 a.m. EST (1 a.m. PST) on Nov. 16. If you have only an hour or less to watch, center it around this time.
Across Europe, the best bet is to watch anytime between 1 a.m. and daybreak local time.
What a great educational experience. If you think your kids can handle it, you might go to bed earlier for a fun family getaway before a busy school day.
Enjoy the fire show in the sky and feel free to leave reports of what you saw in the comment section below.
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Top-level comments on this article: (1 total)What time do we need to do the sleeping bags? We have a sun roof in the 4 Runner - maybe....??? Sounds beautiful! And I am a morning person...Marijo
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