It’s Raining Blogs…I Mean Meteors…Catch God’s Big Show at 1:00 am, Nov. 17 & 18

It’s Raining Blogs…I Mean Meteors…Catch God’s Big Show at 1:00 am, Nov. 17 & 18

By Michelle C. Carr-Crowe

Tonight and tomorrow night, God and nature are putting on a free show, the Leonid meteor shower. Like me, try to take a nap during the day so you can stay up to see the fun.

Created by Comet Tempel-Tuttle, the Leonids are an annual event, usually seen in late fall. (Note: Some earlier Internet postings incorrectly attributed it to the Comet Swift-Tuttle.) Each time the Leonid meteor shower passes through the inner solar system it sprinkles debris, (mostly ice and rock), varying in size from as large as a standard marble to as small as a grain of sand.

"We're predicting 20 to 30 meteors per hour over the Americas, and as many as 200 to 300 per hour over Asia," said Bill Cooke of NASA's Meteoroid Environment Office.

According to experts like Cooke, the best time to watch will be from 1:00 am PST through dawn each day. The good news is this year it occurs close to the New Moon phase, enhancing visibility.
Meteor showers are named by the constellation from which meteors appear to fall, a spot in the sky astronomers call the radiant; for example, the Perseid meteor shower’s origin appears to be located near the Perseus constellation, the Leonid’s near Leo (aka the Lion).
This year’s Leonids are reputed to be especially interesting due to its various colored hues, ranging from the usual white or silver to aquamarine or blue.
Tips for viewing:
1) Take at least a 1 hour nap during the day.
2) Go to the bathroom before you leave for your stargazing destination.
3) Find a safe, dark place to watch, one not subject to an onslaught of headlights.
4) Dress warmly with several layers, as well as gloves, hat and overcoat.
5) Bring a bottle of water, and a thermos of hot chocolate, coffee, tea or soup, plus a small snack.
6) Bring a blanket (preferably with a waterproof layer on one side to put on the ground) or a comfy reclining camp chair, PLUS a blanket to snuggle under.
7) Sit or lay back and relax your eyes to maximize your peripheral vision.
8) ENJOY!

For maximum enjoyment, allow at least one hours for viewing; the first 15 minutes will be spent acclimating your eyes to the darkness, then give yourself at least 30 minutes to view. If meteors are falling at 20 per hour, that’s about 1 every 3 minutes; at 30 per hour, that’s 1 every 2 minutes. Assuming you may miss about 20 percent due to looking in the wrong direction or closing your eyes, that means you may see as few as 8 or as many as 15 in 30 minutes.