The Leonid meteor shower will be reaching its peak this Saturday night (early Sunday morning) on November 16, 2013. The typically prolific meteor shower is expected to reach a peak rate this year of about 10-20 meteors an hour — notably lower than during the years of meteor storms, but still a pretty good show.
The Moon will be in a relatively bright portion of its cycle during the peak this year though, so some of the duller meteors will likely simply be washed out by the Moon’s light, limiting the numbers seen. The Leonids are known for producing occasional super-bright fireballs though, so the meteor shower should be an interesting one even with a bright Moon out.
The best time to with for Leonids is typically between the hours of 2-5am, but really anytime after dark you should be able to spot some. As this name suggests, most of the meteors will appear to be originating from the portion of the sky containing the constellation of Leo the Lion — rising in the East after midnight. For those that can’t make it out Saturday night/Sunday morning, it’s worth noting that the show the following night will likely be nearly as good, on Sundaynight/Monday morning.
As we reported before: “While this year’s show isn’t expected to be anything spectacular, spectacular is what the Leonids are known for being — having produced some of the greatest meteor storms of the past three hundred years. In 1966 peak rates reached as high as several thousand meteors a minute, as seen from dark, rural locations — apparently appearing almost like falling rain, by some accounts. It was reported that because of the great number of meteors all appearing to originate from the same portion of the sky that many observers felt like they had to grip the ground to avoid falling over — with the Earth apparently appearing to be plowing through space at a great speed (as it actually is), rather than appearing stationary as it typically does to human perception.”
For information on the other meteor showers of 2013, including December’s Geminids, see: Meteor Showers 2013, Dates and Times, Geminids, Leonids, Ursids, Taurids, Perseids, Quadrantids, Etc.
Some things to keep in mind when meteor watching:
• What you want is the darkest sky that you can find, preferably far away from city lights — dark, rural locations are the ideal.
• Try to get as comfortable as you can— a reclining chair, warm clothes, blankets, pillows, etc.
• A cup of warm coffee or hot chocolate tends to make the experience more enjoyable. 🙂
Image Credit: Leonid via Flickr CC
ASTEROIDS, COMETS, AND METEORS ORIGINATED FROM EARTH: In the Earth’s past there were powerful volcanic explosions propelling millions of tons of earth soil and rock (now asteroids and meteors which may contain organic molecules or organisms) into space. Read my popular Internet article, ANY LIFE ON MARS CAME FROM EARTH. The article explains how millions of tons of Earth soil may exist on Mars, and how debris we call asteroids and meteors could have originated from Earth. According to a Newsweek article of September 21, 1998, p. 12 that quotes a NASA scientist, SEVEN MILLION tons of Earth soil may exist on Mars! How could this be possible? Read and find out.
Even if the right chemicals exist, life cannot arise by chance. The molecules that make-up life have to be in a sequence, just like the letters found in a sentence.
Scientist and creationist, Brian Thomas explains:
“Astronomers measure comets’ masses and erosion rates to calculate potential lifespans. Sungrazing comets last fewer than 100,000 years.2 They thus confront
secular astronomy which maintains that comets formed with the rest of the solar
system billions of years ago. A solar system that old should have no remaining
comets.
How do secularists solve this dilemma?
Reporting on Ison, The Independent said, “Comet Ison has taken millions of years to reach us travelling from the so-called Oort cloud – a reservoir of trillions and trillions of chunks of rock and ice, leftovers from the birth of the planets.”3
Unfortunately, nobody has yet witnessed a single one of those “trillions and trillions of chunks.” Going strictly with observational science, the “so-called Oort cloud” may exist only in the reservoir of the human mind.
Clearly, secular astronomers invented the Oort cloud to rescue their
billions-of-years dogma from a disintegration process that limits a comet’s
age—and thus the age of the Solar System—to thousands of years. When Ison
becomes visible later this year, perhaps it will remind thoughtful viewers that
the universe is quite young, just as Scripture teaches” (Brian Thomas, M.S., Science Writer at the Institute for Creation research).
Check out my most recent Internet articles and sites: THE SCIENCE
SUPPORTING CREATION and WAR AMONG EVOLUTIONISTS (2nd Edition)
Babu G. Ranganathan*
B.A. Bible/Biology
Author of popular Internet article, TRADITIONAL DOCTRINE OF HELL EVOLVED
FROM GREEK ROOTS
*I have given successful lectures (with question and answer period
afterwards) defending creation before evolutionist science faculty and students
at various colleges and universities. I’ve been privileged to be recognized in
the 24th edition of Marquis “Who’s Who in The East” for my writings
on religion and science.
ASTEROIDS, COMETS, AND METEORS ORIGINATED FROM EARTH: In the Earth’s past there were powerful volcanic explosions propelling millions of tons of earth soil and rock (now asteroids and meteors which may contain organic molecules or organisms) into space. Read my popular Internet article, ANY LIFE ON MARS CAME FROM EARTH. The article explains how millions of tons of Earth soil may exist on Mars, and how debris we call asteroids and meteors could have originated from Earth. According to a Newsweek article of September 21, 1998, p. 12 that quotes a NASA scientist, SEVEN MILLION tons of Earth soil may exist on Mars! How could this be possible? Read and find out.
Even if the right chemicals exist, life cannot arise by chance. The molecules that make-up life have to be in a sequence, just like the letters found in a sentence.
Scientist and creationist, Brian Thomas explains:
“Astronomers measure comets’ masses and erosion rates to calculate potential lifespans. Sungrazing comets last fewer than 100,000 years.2 They thus confront
secular astronomy which maintains that comets formed with the rest of the solar
system billions of years ago. A solar system that old should have no remaining
comets.
How do secularists solve this dilemma?
Reporting on Ison, The Independent said, “Comet Ison has taken millions of years to reach us travelling from the so-called Oort cloud – a reservoir of trillions and trillions of chunks of rock and ice, leftovers from the birth of the planets.”3
Unfortunately, nobody has yet witnessed a single one of those “trillions and trillions of chunks.” Going strictly with observational science, the “so-called Oort cloud” may exist only in the reservoir of the human mind.
Clearly, secular astronomers invented the Oort cloud to rescue their
billions-of-years dogma from a disintegration process that limits a comet’s
age—and thus the age of the Solar System—to thousands of years. When Ison
becomes visible later this year, perhaps it will remind thoughtful viewers that
the universe is quite young, just as Scripture teaches” (Brian Thomas, M.S., Science Writer at the Institute for Creation research).
Check out my most recent Internet articles and sites: THE SCIENCE
SUPPORTING CREATION and WAR AMONG EVOLUTIONISTS (2nd Edition)
Babu G. Ranganathan*
B.A. Bible/Biology
Author of popular Internet article, TRADITIONAL DOCTRINE OF HELL EVOLVED
FROM GREEK ROOTS
*I have given successful lectures (with question and answer period
afterwards) defending creation before evolutionist science faculty and students
at various colleges and universities. I’ve been privileged to be recognized in
the 24th edition of Marquis “Who’s Who in The East” for my writings
on religion and science.