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Re: (meteorobs) Re: What? A Leonid storm in *1886*?!?
In a message dated 3/29/00 11:09:47 AM Eastern Standard Time,
dfischer@astro.uni-bonndot de writes:
<< *If* we hadn't know about the likelyhood of a Leonid storm in 1999,
who would have seen it? Apart from a few gaps all of Central Europe
(and much of Northern Africa) was clouded out, and the locations where
the storm could be seen at its best are sparsely populated. >>
We "could" use the argument that there was a widespread cloud cover in
the prime region of visibility that night. And perhaps if the 1999 Leonids
were substituted for the 1886 situation, the display might indeed have been
missed altogether (since the 1999 Leonids were rich in moderately faint
meteors). But there have been cases where much brighter meteor displays have
literally forced people out of their beds to take a skyward look . . . the
1833 Leonids are an example; the 1803 Lyrids (where townspeople were roused
out of their beds by a fire alarm) are another.
-- joe rao
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