Anybody watching the meteor shower this morning?
It’s time for the most historically famous meteor shower of the year – the Leonids. They peak in 2011 on the night of November 17/18.
3 Answers
I remember seeing a pretty darn good display somewhere around 1996-98. I went up above the house with the kids and we lay on our backs in sleeping bags watching the meteors streaming out. One was so bright it illumined the whole field, as though the night was day (at least in contrast to the darkness that preceded this burn and which returned an instant after it.)
November 17, late night until dawn (the word of the day) the following morning Leonids Radiating from the constellation Leo the Lion, the Leonid meteor shower is famous. Historically, this shower has produced some of the greatest meteor storms in history – at least one in living memory, 1966 – with rates as high as many thousands of meteors per hour. Leonid meteor storms often recur in cycles of 33 to 34 years, although the display around the turn of the 21st century was not as rich as the 1966 display. And, in most years, the Lion whimpers rather than roars, producing a maximum of perhaps 10-15 meteors per hour. Like most meteor showers, the Leonids ordinarily pick up steam after midnight and display the greatest meteor numbers just before dawn. In 2011, however, the last quarter moon will be shining near the radiant point of the shower in the constellation Leo. The unwelcome presence of the moon is sure to dampen the 2011 Leonid display. Try watching from late night November 17 till dawn November 18, though the moonlit glare will subdue the 2011 Leonid meteor shower.
Gracias por recordarnos. Eso es muy interesante Maria.
Voy a verlos despues de trabajar esta noche y mañana también. 
