[Prev][Next][Index][Thread]
(meteorobs) Early Leonids
They're happening! I just came in from barely catching the end of the first
peak. I'm near Boston, far enough northeast so the Leonid radiant was above
the horizon by 11:20 p.m. EST when I started watching. This was 20 minutes
after the predicted time of the first peak.
Meteors from a radiant-on-the-horizon shower are gorgeous -- the few you
can see! These were long, slow streamers sailing up to 40 degrees across
the sky (since they were just skimming the upper atmosphere nearly
horizontally). Not quite one a minute from 11:20 to 11:32. Then they slowed
down to one every 2, 3, or 4 minutes until 12:20 a.m. EST. They had bright
orange heads and brief blue-gray trains. Limiting magnitude 4.2 in the
bright moonlight; very clear air.
More later....
Alan MacRobert
Sky & Telescope
The archive and Web site for our list is at http://www.meteorobs.org
To stop getting all email from the 'meteorobs' lists, use our Webform:
http://www.meteorobs.org/subscribe.html