Leonids meteor shower

Pine Island Guy · 11-16-2012, 04:22 PM

the annual Leonids meteor shower looks to have perfect conditions for viewing this year! Prime time is supposed to be 3:30am - 5:30am Sunday morning... no moon at that time, clear skies predicted, and no wind... head out on the lake (or to a field), bundle up and watch...

Now all we need is the meteors to show up... as one article I read said "the only thing predictable about the number of meteors that occur during the Leonids, is that it is totally unpredictable"...

In 2001, it was an amazing show, several hundred over the course of a few hours, and so bright you could see the trails reflected off the lake!!!

Happy viewing and stay warm and safe out on the lake -PIG

Pine Island Guy · 11-19-2012, 08:25 AM

We woke up at 3am Sunday morning and were out between 5 Mile and Bear by 3:15am, bundled up in hats, mittens, jackets, and in our sleeping bags… had the Adirondack chairs in the back of the Eastern so we could lean back and get the full expanse of sky… no moon, very little breeze, no clouds, some minor shoreline lights, and a balmy 24 degrees… perfect conditions for watching a meteor shower!!!

Unfortunately after 2 hours, the three of us had seen a total of 13… and none of them anything of note, no fireballs streaking horizon to horizon leaving a trail in the sky for seconds etc… and nothing compared to what we saw in 2001… or was described in an article about the 1966 Leonid shower “for one 15 minute stretch, thousands of meteors per minute radiated from constellation Leo making it look like it was raining down on earth, causing some watchers to duck for cover” (note: wasn’t LSD invented around then?)…

However it was a beautiful night on the lake for stargazing in general, and we had fun using Google Sky Map to see who knew what stars and constellations…

At 5:30am as the horizon started brightening, we motored back to the island and took a nice 2 hour nap to make up for “those 2 hours of freezing to death that I’ll never be able to get back, and could have just seen some meteor showers on YouTube” (as one member of the party put it)… and then off the Mug by the Bay in Centre Harbor for a very yummy breakfast which made the entire event worth while!

Maybe next year!!

Time to start thinking ice in… -PIG

11-16-2012, 04:22 PM	#1
Pine Island Guy Senior Member Join Date: Jul 2004 Location: pine island of course! Posts: 406 Thanks: 244 Thanked 246 Times in 112 Posts	Leonids meteor shower the annual Leonids meteor shower looks to have perfect conditions for viewing this year! Prime time is supposed to be 3:30am - 5:30am Sunday morning... no moon at that time, clear skies predicted, and no wind... head out on the lake (or to a field), bundle up and watch... Now all we need is the meteors to show up... as one article I read said "the only thing predictable about the number of meteors that occur during the Leonids, is that it is totally unpredictable"... In 2001, it was an amazing show, several hundred over the course of a few hours, and so bright you could see the trails reflected off the lake!!! Happy viewing and stay warm and safe out on the lake -PIG

11-19-2012, 08:25 AM	#2
Pine Island Guy Senior Member Join Date: Jul 2004 Location: pine island of course! Posts: 406 Thanks: 244 Thanked 246 Times in 112 Posts	Meteor viewing report... We woke up at 3am Sunday morning and were out between 5 Mile and Bear by 3:15am, bundled up in hats, mittens, jackets, and in our sleeping bags… had the Adirondack chairs in the back of the Eastern so we could lean back and get the full expanse of sky… no moon, very little breeze, no clouds, some minor shoreline lights, and a balmy 24 degrees… perfect conditions for watching a meteor shower!!! Unfortunately after 2 hours, the three of us had seen a total of 13… and none of them anything of note, no fireballs streaking horizon to horizon leaving a trail in the sky for seconds etc… and nothing compared to what we saw in 2001… or was described in an article about the 1966 Leonid shower “for one 15 minute stretch, thousands of meteors per minute radiated from constellation Leo making it look like it was raining down on earth, causing some watchers to duck for cover” (note: wasn’t LSD invented around then?)… However it was a beautiful night on the lake for stargazing in general, and we had fun using Google Sky Map to see who knew what stars and constellations… At 5:30am as the horizon started brightening, we motored back to the island and took a nice 2 hour nap to make up for “those 2 hours of freezing to death that I’ll never be able to get back, and could have just seen some meteor showers on YouTube” (as one member of the party put it)… and then off the Mug by the Bay in Centre Harbor for a very yummy breakfast which made the entire event worth while! Maybe next year!! Time to start thinking ice in… -PIG

The Following 3 Users Say Thank You to Pine Island Guy For This Useful Post:
inquiring one (11-16-2012), PaugusBayFireFighter (11-16-2012), SteveA (11-17-2012)

The Following 3 Users Say Thank You to Pine Island Guy For This Useful Post:
BroadHopper (11-19-2012), Diana (11-19-2012), trfour (11-19-2012)