Watch your Night Sky in the Morning

The wife and I are getting up in about 5 hours and drive to the beach.

 

Most of it is over the middle of the states. So Texas should get a great show.


(CNN)

<i>-- One of the best meteor showers in decades could barrage the planet before dawn Sunday, raining down perhaps thousands of streaking points of light each hour during its peak.
Professional and amateur astronomers alike were preparing for the Leonid meteor shower, which takes place every November when the Earth passes through the remnants of Comet Tempel-Tuttle.
The prime observation times in North America will likely take place in the hours before dawn. In New York, for example, that means 4 a.m. to 6 a.m. EST.
Tiny meteor fragments, often no bigger than sand grains, heat up as they speed and bounce across the upper atmosphere, producing intense flashes of light, sometimes brighter than Venus and in rare instances the moon.
The annual light show varies sporadically from sparse to heavy concentrations of celestial precipitation. This year, however, should present an extraordinary display because the Earth, which usually dodges the main Leonid debris clouds, will pass through the heart of one of them, astronomers said.
The storm could rival a memorable predecessor more than 30 years ago. One Colorado astronomer is making sure to watch.
"The last time the Lion (Leonids) roared back in 1966, I was a budding young astronomer. I was lying outside in my sleeping bag waiting in the wee hours of the morning for the meteors to start falling, but the action was slow. I dozed off," recalled Jimmy Westlake, an astronomer in Colorado.
An hour or so later, "all hell broke lose as the most intense meteor storm on record exploded over the eastern United States. Over 500,000 falling stars filled the sky in an hour's time." Unfortunately, Westlake had remained asleep.
"I've been waiting for 35 years to get another chance at this one! Where ever I have to go, I'll be in the clear with my camera," he said.
Observers in North America, Hawaii, Australia and Asian nations on the Pacific Rim should have the best views of the 2001 Leonids, which will take place overnight November 17 and 18.
Nevertheless, around midnight local time could prove a rewarding time to look up. The meteor count will probably be low, but that is the time viewers will most likely see meteors that fly over the horizon right along the edge of the atmosphere. The so-called Earthgrazers often move slowly and generate long, colorful tails.
Astronomers predict meteor rates could peak as high as 8,000 an hour in some places, but caution that such forecasts are sketchy at best.
"The Leonids might surprise us," NASA astronomer Bill Cooke said. Predicted outbursts could fail to materialize and the showers could become intense when scientists least expect.
Regardless, prime time will be between midnight Saturday and sunrise on Sunday, November 18. Astronomers suggest that meteor hunters watch the sky from in a darkened site as far from urban light pollution as possible.
The Leonids are so named because they seem to originate from the constellation Leo. </i>

 

I hope we can catch a view of the shower with all of the cloud cover here in Austin.

 

That was AWESOME!!!

I couldn't even keep up a count. We were only out from 4:30 to sun up.

Just beautiful! I thought they would all be going in the same direction, but they were going every which way. A couple of times it looked like one would explode and became a shower.

They say it won’t happen again in my lifetime.

Anyone else see it?

 

ah I missed it.. and I heard about it like last weekend and had planned on making sure to see it for sure..... totally forgot about it before I went to sleep last night though and I even woke up in the middle of the night and didn't even t hink about it.. oh well .. i'm only 18.... so when it comes in another 35 years maybe i'll be around to see it

 

I stated up until 4:am and didn't see anything Went outside at about 2:30,nice clear sky...go back out around 3:30 and clouds had rolled in so I didn't get to see any of it.

 

I went to Mt. Bonnell last night. I saw some white streaks in the sky. It was pretty scary walking up there at 4 am with one flashlight.

 

Yeah, it was truly amazing. We left Houston around 2:30 and drove out to near El Campo (about 60 miles down 59 from where we live). The horizon was a little bright, but the sky above us was dark. We didn't bring a counter or anything, but one per second was pretty common. We saw one really bright one that looked like it exploded - with the orange spot remaining for about 5 seconds.

You kind of get used to it after a while...and we started driving home while it was dark (around 5:30).

Very happy that we went though.

 

I can make my claim - I saw one meteor at 2am on I-10 in the middle of nowhere in Florida. Surprised me, but I'll take it - sure needed a wish from that thing!

(damn the Florida Gators...)

 

I tried, but the sky was too overcast to make out anything. I am dissapointed.

Though I did see a meteor falling while I was driving way home from the Rockets season opener. I thought it was a particularly auspicious sign.

 

Serious disappointment.

The family and I drove up to see my wife's mom and step dad over the weekend. They live in the middle of nowhere outside of Temple Texas, and the view of the stars there on a clear night is spectacular. We were all so hyped up to watch the show. I set my alarm, get up at 3:45 am....and it was so overcast that we could not see a single star, much less a shooting one. Nothing.

Major Bummer. Oh well, we'll try again in 2099.

 

Fantastic!!!

 

I live on 1960 and around 3:50 am, I went outside to see what I could see.

I could see plenty of stars, but I didn't see any meteors..... bummer. Of course, I was outside my apartment in shorts looking like a lunatic, so I didn't wait very long.

 

I was driving on 1960 at 5:30 in the morning and I caught one in the sky. That was it though...