[Prev][Next][Index][Thread]
Re: (ATMoB:Discuss) Leonid meteors on 18/19 Nov (Mon night/Tue morning)
So how many of us are planning on getting together at the clubhouse for
this?
Or perhaps someone has a truly dark site in mind that we could park at for
the night.
Dave
----- Original Message -----
From: "Lew Gramer (E-mail 3)" <dedalus ^a^ alum.mit.edu>
To: <nhas ^a^ newww dot com>; "NSAAC (E-mail)" <nsaac ^a^ nsaac daht org>;
<atmob-discuss ^a^ atmob daht org>
Cc: <SoNewEnglandAstro ^a^ yahoogroups dot com>; <snegazers ^a^ brainiac dot com>;
<gentilepiano ^a^ yahoo dot com>
Sent: Friday, October 25, 2002 7:12 PM
Subject: (ATMoB:Discuss) Leonid meteors on 18/19 Nov (Mon night/Tue morning)
> Larry Lopez of NHAS sagely asks:
> >Well the worst part is that the moon is going to be out for most
> >of the night Monday night, and that it is a weekday. Last time I
> >showed up at 1 am and stayed till dawn to be at the "best" time.
> >I was wondering if you'd comment on the "best" time to be there?
>
> Well, Larry, that's a good question... Barbara asked me to
> do a talk for the club at the next NHAS General Meeting, on
> "The Lion's Last Roar: Seeing the Leonid Meteor Storm from
> New England" (Plus I have a talk at the CMP on 01 November,
> and another talk at the ATMoB meeting on 14 Nov also, AND
> one for South Shore Astronomical Society on 06 Nov. Yikes!)
>
>
> But if you can't come, or you just want "the short answer":
>
> First, my disclaimer: this is based on a consensus of cur-
> rent predictions "from the pros". So Your Mileage May Vary.
>
>
> 1) If you are up for it, watch from around 10pm Monday night,
> AAAAAAALL the way through bright dawn Tuesday morning... Last
> year I did this in China, and the fun lasted from ~45 minutes
> BEFORE the radiant rose, all the way until sunrise - really! :)
>
>
> 2) If you're not up for an all-nighter, then watch between 10
> and midnight Monday night (you stand a good chance to catch the
> tail end of the "European" storm which is predicted that night),
> and then watch AGAIN from about 3:30am through bright twilight,
> on Tuesday morning... So you can nap for a few hours in between!
>
> 3) If you're a real sleepy head, or have a head cold and can't
> stand lying out in your PolarTec sleeping bag, then just make
> SURE you go out on the morning of Tuesday, November 19. Lie out
> or sit comfortably (don't stand) with your eyes on the sky from
> about 4am until the sun threatens to rise!
>
> 4) Last but not least, if waking up at 4am is about as likely
> for you as flying in the Space Shuttle, then just keep your eye
> on the sky Monday evening, from 10pm to midnight: you could MISS
> the most incredible show of the year - or your life - but you'll
> at least have a chance to see a few nice, looooong, "slooooow"
> Earth grazer meteors, as the Leonid radiant rises that night...
>
>
> As for the moonlight - if our "storms" materialize, they may
> also bless us with many BRIGHT meteors again this time... So
> the moon may cause you to end up "only" seeing a meteor every
> THREE seconds, instead of a meteor every 1 sec... Oh, well! :)
>
> And don't forget, if you feel like recording what you see for
> posterity - and maybe getting your name mentioned in lots of
> scientific publications if you do - please let me know...
>
> Clear skies all,
> Lew
>
>
> Lew Gramer, North American Meteor Network
> http://www.meteorobs daht org
> http://www.namnmeteors daht org
>
>
References: