Howdy !

Tonight is THE night for the best celestial display in a while! Bundle up, grab the kids and a thermos of hot chocolate and watch the show!

For North American skywatchers, Earth will enter the heavier parts of the stream at about 11 p.m. EST on Saturday, Nov. 17. Activity will peak around 5 a.m. Sunday morning, when as many as 13 meteors per minute could be visible, likely for a stretch of time that lasts less than 1 hour. The peak corresponds to 4 a.m. CST, 3 a.m. MST and 2 a.m. PST.

No serious equipment is needed for optimal viewing. Binoculars and telescopes are of no use, because the shooting stars move across the sky too fast. Your eyes are the only instruments you'll need.

For more info, go to http://www.space.com/scienceastronomy/astronomy/leonid_watching_011106-1.html

Have fun!

-- Jason in S. Tenn. (AJAMA5@netscape.net), November 17, 2001

Answers

I'm getting up at 2:00 a.m PST, but I don't understand why it's supposed to be so special tonight. I though the comet which produces the debris responsible for the display came around every 33 years (1999 was the last time). 1966 had literally millions if you were in the south central states, as I was.

Who wants to explain this?

JOJ

-- joj (jump@off.c), November 17, 2001.