BS: Nature's fireworks tonight.

Subject: Nature's fireworks tonight.
From: Penny S.
Date: 17 Nov 99 - 12:15 PM

Those of you planning to investigate when it gets dark or light might care to add looking for the Leonid meteor stream tonight. In some parts of the world, (he he) we are due for a storm (maybe) of hundreds a minute (who am I kidding?). From the rise of Leo (about 10.30 local time) meteors should be visible, with a short intense peak at 2 UT. I'm setting my alarm clock and risking the migraine.

URL for site to come.

Penny

Subject: RE: BS: Nature's fireworks tonight.
From: Penny S.
Date: 17 Nov 99 - 12:19 PM

http://www.su.ukc.ac.uk/societies/space/meteors/leo99.html

Shooting Stars -

Penny

Subject: RE: BS: Nature's fireworks tonight.
From: Penny S.
Date: 17 Nov 99 - 06:35 PM

Just to remind Pet Peterson that it's tonight.

Penny

Subject: RE: BS: Nature's fireworks tonight.
From: McGrath of Harlow
Date: 17 Nov 99 - 06:42 PM

Well it's cloudy so far, but I'll try. But which way is Leo?

Subject: RE: BS: Nature's fireworks tonight.
From: Penny S.
Date: 17 Nov 99 - 06:44 PM

Should be just rising in the east. But it doesn't matter, because if there are any meteors, they will be all over the sky. If you look at Leo, you will see them head on.

Penny

Off to set the alarm

Subject: RE: BS: Nature's fireworks tonight.
From: katlaughing
Date: 17 Nov 99 - 06:52 PM

I think I missed them in the US, didn't I? I'd heard they'd be round last night and forgot! Today, the radio was talking about the desert in the Middle East being the best spot for tonight. And, it's starting to cloud up here, too. darn!

Subject: RE: BS: Nature's fireworks tonight.
From: Neil Lowe
Date: 17 Nov 99 - 07:58 PM

If it's anything like the one I saw around 7pm EDT 16-Nov-99 here in the U.S., it should definitely be a spectacular display. The sucker was Huge!

Subject: RE: BS: Nature's fireworks tonight.
From: Brendy
Date: 17 Nov 99 - 08:30 PM

I've got this shareware screensaver thing that generates the night/day sky, where you can configure your latitude etc, (or just pick froma list of loads of cities, and hey presto, all of a sudden you can find where Leo is relevant to the speck of dust you're standing on.
Fat lot of use that's doing me!
Here in sunny Oslo, at 02.30 CET, it's totally overcast and SNOWING!!!!!
No Leonids for Brendy tonight I fear!!!
Here comes the winter!!
Yours, warmly
Nanook of the North.

Subject: RE: BS: Nature's fireworks tonight.
From: Pete Peterson
Date: 17 Nov 99 - 09:05 PM

Thanks Penny-- went outside to look but the radiant is still underneath the horizon. Didn't see much and the moon is still up. Shortly to bed, setting the alarm for about 3 AM when Leo will have risen and the moon set. Never thirst

Subject: RE: BS: Nature's fireworks tonight.
From: Mark Cohen
Date: 17 Nov 99 - 09:33 PM

Last night (11/16) it was clear on the usually rainy side of the Big Island of Hawaii. I was up from about midnight to 1AM watching the sky just after moonset, and saw 3 count'em 3 meteors, none particularly impressive. "They" say it may be better tonight. Some people drove up to the visitor center partway up Mauna Kea (the big telescopes are at the summit, which is another story entirely...) and were no doubt disappointed. As I recall, last year was supposed to be an extra big Leonid shower and it was also a fizzle. Maybe the (solar) system got bit by the Y2K bug a little early? Anyway, I'll try again tonight, as long as the tradewinds don't push the clouds in. I still like the Perseids; they're a little more reliable.

Aloha,
Mark Cohen

Subject: RE: BS: Nature's fireworks tonight.
From: AllisonA(Animaterra)
Date: 17 Nov 99 - 09:39 PM

Not to worry, kat, we haven't missed it! < href = "http://www.thursdaysclassroom.com/11nov99/meteorcounts.html#observe"> This page has detailed information and viewing tips. I'm going out in a little while, and I'll try to go out again after midnight Eastern Standard Time, since it's our last best chance in our lifetime to see it!
Allison

Subject: RE: BS: Nature's fireworks tonight.
From: AllisonA(Animaterra)
Date: 17 Nov 99 - 09:42 PM

Try again: Leonid meteors If it doesn't work this time I'm giving up (for now!)

Subject: RE: BS: Nature's fireworks tonight.
From: Penny S.
Date: 18 Nov 99 - 07:30 AM

The stream is very compact, with blobs in it, hence the unpredictability, and the limited locations for the display. The radio this morning referred to 5000 an hour, above the altostratus with which we were blessed last night. Clear skies until well into the evening, clear skies this morning, but in between, at the critical time, cloud. Still, mustn't complain, some of my children saw a few about 10 pm (I didn't look then), and in '66 there was a gale as well, I recall.

The curse of British astronomy is that if there is one spot in the sky, and one cloud, the two will be in the same direction. So, if you want to see the whole sky...

Penny

Subject: RE: BS: Nature's fireworks tonight.
From: katlaughing
Date: 18 Nov 99 - 09:45 AM

Wyoming, 11/18/99: clouds + snow = NO METEOR SHOW! :-(

Subject: RE: BS: Nature's fireworks tonight.
From: Penny S.
Date: 18 Nov 99 - 11:10 AM

This is a report from The Guardian Unlimited site - it has such a long URL that I decided against a link.

Showers Spoil Meteor Extravaganza

From the Press Association Thursday November 18, 1999 03:37 PM

The most spectacular meteor shower for 33 years proved a washout for many stargazers as heavy rainclouds blanketed large parts of Britain.

The display of celestial fireworks caused by the Leonid meteors crashing into the earth's atmosphere were visible in only a few British locations, among them Edinburgh.

Many stargazers were disappointed to find that the weather obscured the gallery of shooting stars - reported by NASA to be raining down at a rate of about 1,700 per hour at the height of the shower.

Astronomers at the Armagh Observatory in Northern Ireland were among those frustrated by the weather.

Scientist John McFarland said: "It is a disappointment, but we are at the mercy of the elements.

"It's been overcast and I haven't been able to see anything at all. It's especially frustrating for me because I was also in Cornwall for the eclipse earlier this year and was unable to see that because of cloud."

Astronomers in the Middle East and the rest of Europe were treated to the best views while scientists on the east coast of the US reported spectacular displays.

Meteors are tiny dust particles shed by comets which burn up as they enter the Earth's atmosphere, leaving fiery streaks across the night sky.

The Leonids are left in the wake of the comet Tempel-Tuttel, which orbits the Sun every 33 years. They are seen each year, but occasionally the Earth's orbit takes it through the middle of the meteor trail.

When this happens large numbers of meteors pierce the atmosphere at 45 miles per second, producing spectacular shooting star displays.

On rare occasions a meteor "storm" occurs. During one of these events the sky can be ablaze with meteors and the Leonid storm of 1833 was the most dramatic in modern history.

Penny

Subject: RE: BS: Nature's fireworks tonight.
From: Pete Peterson
Date: 18 Nov 99 - 11:14 AM

For what it's worth Observing from around 40 N 75 West (Riegelsville PA) 9 to 9:30 PM: absolutely nothing! 3 to 3:30 AM: four meteors from Leo radiant, none above 1st magnitude (compare to Capella) one sporadic from SW to N. Clear crisp sky and beautiful, almost worth getting up for

Subject: RE: BS: Nature's fireworks tonight.
From: Micca
Date: 18 Nov 99 - 11:49 AM

It was so overcast in London We had a better chance of seeing Leonid Brezhnev

Subject: RE: BS: Nature's fireworks tonight.
From: lamarca
Date: 18 Nov 99 - 09:31 PM

I went out last night about 11 PM EST in my pajamas, sheepskin slippers and winter jacket, and stared at the (clear) sky in our suburban neighborhood for about 15 minutes. In spite of the trees (now leafless), streetlights, etc, I still saw 3 little flashes and one good sized streak. Having made my wish, I went back in to snuggle up with the cat and get warm again!

Subject: RE: BS: Nature's fireworks tonight.
From: Brendy
Date: 19 Nov 99 - 04:30 AM

Just as an aside Mark. (that's my way of creeping on a thread),
I was watching BBC World on the TV the other night and they told us that Muana Kea, or Lua had been erupting day after day, for the past 9 years or so.
Is this true, and is Hawaii expanding even as we speak?

Subject: RE: BS: Nature's fireworks tonight.
From: bbc
Date: 19 Nov 99 - 11:28 AM

Thanks to this thread, I was alert. Yesterday, at 6:08 am, driving to work, I saw my first meteor!!! Just in my line of view, a wide streak of light zoomed down from the sky. Pretty neat! Also, rather distracting. I'm glad the road isn't crowded, that time of day. BTW, this was in the U.S., about 1 hour NE of NYC.

best to all,

bbc

Subject: RE: BS: Nature's fireworks tonight.
From: Mark Cohen
Date: 19 Nov 99 - 11:21 PM

Brendy--
Yes, it's true. The erupting volcano is Kilauea. If you put that name into your search engine you should be able to find some interesting info. Mauna Kea and Mauna Loa are the biggest on the island, dormant and active, respectively. When this current eruption started there were spectacular fountains of lava; now it's settled down to a more or less steady flow of lava through underground tubes several miles in length and emptying into the sea. Sometimes at night from our living room window we can see an orange glow in the sky which is a reflection in the steam clouds of the lava lake inside the most active cone.
And yes, Hawaii is expanding. All the Hawaiian islands arose from volcanoes. The Big Island of Hawaii is the youngest and largest; it's still expanding and hasn't started eroding that much. The whole island chain extends in a northwesterly direction out to Midway Island and Kure Atoll, because the Pacific plate is traveling in that direction over a stationary hot spot. Iceland is another "hot spot" volcanic island. The "next" Hawaiian island is an undersea volcano called Loihi, just off the southeast coast of our island.
Aren't you glad you asked?

Subject: RE: BS: Nature's fireworks tonight.
From: Curtis & Loretta
Date: 20 Nov 99 - 01:12 AM

Darned old city lights. Couldn't see one meteor, though I didn't expect to. Last year, we were lucky enough to be out in the country, in southern Minnesota, and it was a beautiful display!

Loretta S