Famous Leonid meteor show morning of Nov 17

Most likely the weather here in Kansas/Missouri will be rainy and cloudy. Maybe there will be some clearings.

http://science.nasa.gov/headlines/y2009/10nov_leonids2009.htm?list1285438

Another good article by Joe Rao whom I was with in 1998 during the Caribbean eclipse is here.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/33589356

Perseids what a hype and what a bust

I've been watching meteors for years so I guess when the skies are clear, whether cold or warm, I will try, as I have done over the years despite the hype. The hype of the Perseid meteor shower, this year , was nerve racking.

It was clear over Kansas for the most part but the Moon was keeping many of the faint ones. I don't care about seeing the faint ones, all I look forward is a few bright ones to remember.
I only could compare this Perseid hype to Comet Kohoutek when much is expected but little if nothing is delivered. Not only were two maximum dates expected but the extra bombardment was supposed to happen either later evening and/or early morning. This was compounded by observers seeing a lot (which led me to believe what are they smoking anyway) or literally nothing (my case).
A human eye can see so much and when the hype media says 100- 200 meteors per hour these are expectations not realizations. You are not going to go out and see fireballs falling around you. If you are lucky you can see one or two bring ones or some every few minutes at the peak.
I gave it a go one more time.
In Olathe, KS (near Kansas City), the Moon was finally setting a little lower so that the sky was darker in the area of the NE and the constellatioin Perseus. It was far better than last years Full Moon but up until now seeing the meteors was still disconcerting. However supposedly there was to be another "spike". So instead of going to bed, I go out my sleeping bag and waited, again.

In an hour , with clear skies, all I saw was 8 Perseids. But all except one was pretty bright.
The best was a short yellow Perseid at zero magnitude (not quite a fireball) , that left a nice 0.75 train (smoke trail). There were 2 fireballs (yellow and yellow-white) at -2 that were 25 degrees long and pretty. So at least I saw something.

But an all sky camera can see much more over time. Ths spectacular photo shows dozens. There is on that stands out and I wish the author would have said more how bright this particular wide bright one was.
8/14/09
can't find it? use the archives and go to earlier date other then this one
http://spaceweather.com/

Perseids meteor shower tonight

The Moon will be close but that won't keep us from seeing the brighter meteors as they strike the atmosphere. It is definitely a hindrance but it you see a few bright ones, then I (and others) will be happy.

Earthgrazers, meteors that skim the atmosphere and appear after sunset are bright, long and spectacular and some might appear in your location.

There also might be an extra flurry of meteors around midnight for about an hour so we shall see.
More information
http://science.nasa.gov/headlines/y2009/31jul_perseids2009.htm

If you see some meteors tonight let me know . I will post my own . I might even try to take some photos.

"Flakey" Halley's Comet meteors can be seen Wednesday morning

Comets leave behind small particles in space. The space in the sky is defined by the orbit that trails near the Earth. When the Earth enters the orbital area left behind by the comets,  these particles enter the atmosphere and can be seen as "meteors" which streak across the sky. Wednesday night is the best time to see these Eta Aquarid meteors from the Southern or Northern Hemisphere. More here at

http://www.spaceweather.com/meteors/etaaquarids/etaaquarids.html?PHPSESSID=ieuk71al9nvuugd21q3gej8815

Orbital animation and Quadrantid meteor shower jan/3-4

The Quadrantid meteor shower is coming up Jan 3-4. Best time in the morning (maximum 7am Eastern, 6 am Central) The source of this meteor shower is possibly a dead comet or asteroid. Read more below and take a look at the cool animation.

http://www.windows.ucar.edu/tour/link=/our_solar_system/meteors/quadrantid_shower.html&edu=high

http://meteorshowersonline.com/quadrantids.html

I will be out there if it is clear.

try to look for bright Geminid meteors starting tonight until this weekend

Yes that moon is bright over in the West near sunrise. It is located near the radiant (Gemini) before sunrise washing out everything in the sky particularly in the West but....

I stepped outside 6:10 Central am to get the newspaper. Well I happened to look up at the right time and saw a nice fat, yellow, zero magnitude Geminid flying across the Big Dipper.

Remember the brightest ones might be coming around 9 pm Earthgrazers so watch for them Dec 12- 14) Friday, Sat (Maxiumum) and Sunday night. These can appear all over the sky and are usually very long, very bright and can appear even in the areas that areas that are washed ouot by the moon. I am more interested in seeing the bright ones any way because those are the ones to remember this (and other showers ) yearly event.

Hope you see some. Please report any you see.

A spectacular (Perseid ) earthgrazer skimmed across the atmosphere near the Grand Tetons in August , 1972. Luckily it was caught on film.
Here is the link to see the video.
If you have not seen it before , the time has come

http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=503_1215418331

Leonids and Light pillars

The Leonid meteor shower peaked on the morning of 11/17/2008. While many in Asia and Europe saw significant higher then average meteoric rates, in Kansas I saw nothing due to clouds. I did however see one nice Leonid the morning before.
While that phenomenon was in the atmosphere, Light pillars danced in the sky lower to the Earth. They appear like ice crystal laden auroras but they are not.
http://www.spaceweather.com/archive.php?view=1&day=22&month=11&year=2008

Leonids meteor shower 11/16 and 11/17 may be stronger then average

The famous Leonid meteor shower will peak Sunday starting 9 PM. While it is not supposed to be a meteor storm like 1966, 1999-2001, the rates are mentioned to be higher. At that time you can start to see earthgrazers which are usually brilliant and long meteors that skim the surface of the atmosphere. Just seeing one can be an awesome sight. More none earthgrazers will appear later on in the morning as the Leo constellation (looks like a big question mark in the south) rises higher and higher. We'll see what happens.

European Taurid fireball lights up the sky

The low file Taurid meteor shower is putting out some fireballs for the next few days after midnight. Here is several photos of one that lit up the sky. It was about as bright as the moon.
http://spaceweather.com/submissions/large_image_popup.php?image_name=Roman-Piffl-tau_20081105_204238_5D_1225929890.jpg

I watched the Quadrantid meteor shower on the ground in Olathe, KS (1/4/08) while astronomers saw it from the air.

I watched the Quadrantid meteor shower on the ground in Olathe, KS (1/4/08) while astronomers saw the meteor shower in the air. I saw several nice Quadrantid fireballs and a possible stationary one during the morning hours 5:30-6:30 as there were clouds before.

Meanwhile 2008 Quadrantid meteor shower peaked around 0200 UTC on Friday, Jan. 4th. That is the initial report from astronomers who flew a research airplane north of the Arctic Circle for an uninterrupted view of the shower. The team, led by Peter Jenniskens of the SETI Institute, witnessed many bright Quadrantids among an "amazing display" of aurora borealis; this is a typical view through the starboard window:

http://quadrantid.seti.org/
http://www.spaceweather.com/meteors/quadrantids/quadrantids.html
comet was seen in 1490
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quadrantids

very nice list ing of meteor showers
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_meteor_showers

Great Geminids Meteor Shower:Best since 2002 Geminids & 2001 Leonids

What a show! I headed south to Powell observatory (20 minutes away from Olathe KS ) near Kansas City ( where I could view all around from almost horizon to horizon. I was glad I did.

The sky was very clear. I camped out with my sleeping bag, deck chair and pad and red light. I surprised no one else was there. That's too bad.

I saw a -2 Geminid (brightness of Venus) right away. The meteors just started falling all around in every direction. From 1:38- 3:19 I saw 45 meteors ranging from -4 mag to 4 magnitude (it was that clear). Unfortunetly while many were bright they were almost all white which is strange because many Geminids are usually yellow.

Most were bright, without tails (trains) and were 5-15 degrees long.
Several times two would appear right after another. There was a yellow one however that left a 0.75 second train. Most (like many Geminids) were 0.5 second in duration although a few were faster.

I actually would have seen more but I always plot the information about each meteor (for the American Meteor Society) so I can send the data in. Each plot takes 30 or so seconds to turn on red light and write.

Clouds and fog moved in but stayed away. I left earlier to go back as I had school the next day to teach and I was cold even though I had bundled up and it was in 20 to 30 degrees.I wanted to stay longer but my legs were getting frozen (it was 20 degrees ) eventhough I was in a sleeping bag.

This 2007 shower ranked up with the 2002 Geminid shower when I saw 50 bright and more colorful meteors in around 2 hours. The 2001 Leonids was even better but the meteors were fainter on the average.
Probably one of the top ten showers I have ever seen (since 1963).
(see spaceweather.com for photos of Geminids including an all sky camera shot of over hundred meteors (look for 12/16 in archives if not on main page).
Next up Quadrantids January 3-4.

Dr.Eric

The Geminids are coming, the Geminids are coming

The Geminids are coming! Didn't Paul Revere, (the famous astronomer) coin this phrase? Not!

But nevertheless- rain, ice, sleet is here right now (Tuesday) here in Olathe, KS .

Tomorrow (Wed) partly cloudy and 37 F and party cloudy and sunny for Thurday.

Means it look good or half decent for viewing the Geminid meteor shower starting Thurday night (see previous post).
The Geminids are coming Thursday night to Saturday morning. (see the info story at this link
Best Meteor Shower of 2007 Peaks Dec. 13
http://www.space.com/spacewatch/071207-ns-geminids.html

Meanwhile here is a photo of a Leonid meteor in 2006 that Kelly from Tonganoxie, KS sent to me (I have less bright ones on my photos).

Geminids meteor shower 12/13/07

The Geminids is usually the best meteor shower along with the August Perseids during the year. The moon will be setting early after sunset so that will make observing more meteors. The meteor shower has many bright meteors and sometime trails called trains. Many are yellow. With bright ones and fainter ones you might see 60 per minute if you are looking at a dark sky site. (For me I never see that many no matter as I am busy writing down information about each meteor as fast as I can so I can back to watching after shutting off my red light ). I do this for research for the Meteor Society. Then I have a record of what I do too for the Meteor Observer Award for the Astronomical League.

Due to the meteor swarms orbit and orientation, the Geminid meteor shower rates rise slower than they fall (better before the peak for those in Asia it is early hours of Sat morning (where it will be the best).
In N .America , the Geminids will peak on 9-10 pm Thursday Dec 13th and onward through the night to dawn on Friday morning (12am-6am).Friday evening (if you want to try) will start well early in evening then decline as it goes towards later part of the evening and morning.

During the early evening you might also see some meteors called Earthgrazers that show early and skim through the tops of the atmosphere. These are usually very bright and long. I saw a very bright Perseid earthgrazer a couple of years ago during the Perseids and it rose from the East like a big orange firecracker , sparkling along its path

Many meteor showers are associated with comets which have left the meteoroids in their wake and "shower " us at certain times of the year. This one however is known to associated with not a comet but an asteroid called Phaethon. It is possibly an ancient dead comet that has and keep leaving more particles in its wake easy December.

The weather can still be mild so it is a great time to see some bright meteors. Use a lawn chair and take a sleeping bag and also bundle up with sweater, jacket etc

? let know

Good luck.

Surprise meteor shower results

I heard that there might be a suprise meteor shower called the Aurigids on the morning of 9/1/2007. It was possible due to an old comet trail.

While the projections to see it were West of the Rockies, I decided to take a chance in Olathe, KS (near Kansas City, KS).
From 1-2 am I saw nothing but the bright moon. I then went to sleep after setting the alarm. hoping to get up at 4:30 am.
The alarm did not go off but I got up with surprise at 5:55 am. I got dressed, took out the lawn chair and then starred upward to see if I could catch any Aurigid "falling stars."
Within minutes, I saw a bright yellow one. In the next 30 minutes before it got too light, I saw 4 Aurigids.
Here are the results and the plot map I drew where the meteors sped across the sky and additional information.


aurigids 9/1/07 Olathe. KS Dr. Eric Flescher (kcstarguy@aol.com)
s or Aurigid time color magnitude length degrees duration
1 A 6:01 Yellow 1 6 0.25
2 A 6:11 white 2 10 0.5
3 A 6:19 white 3 20 0.5
4 A 6:19 yellow 2.5 11 0.5