Meteor Shower Tonite!

kmatheny2 writes


Meteor shower could be spectacular this weekend



November 16, 2001 08:00 CDT



Saturday night is party night in space this weekend. Those with clear, dark skies may see the biggest meteor storm to hit Earth's atmosphere for the next 100 years.




"It's time to set your alarm clocks and get yourself out under a dark sky," said Dr. Donald Yeomans, head of NASA's Near Earth Object program office, at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif. "This could be the last opportunity for watching an impressive meteor storm in a dark sky for decades to come."





While several scientists have predicted the number of meteors, NASA scientist Peter Jenniskens is the most optimistic forecaster. He predicts the Leonids will peak at 4,200 per hour at 5:09 a.m. Sunday over the East Coast, 2:09 a.m. over the West Coast. Others predict a peak of 1,300 to 2,000 per hour.



http://www.cosmiverse.com/new simages/leonidsanim.gif "It's now or never,'' said Robert Naeye of the Astronomy Society of the Pacific.



"Astronomers don't think we'll see another storm like this one until the year 2099. We will probably never see a better meteor shower in our lifetimes.''