NASA is predicting a brand new meteor shower for tomorrow night, May 23-24. This is the first time that the Earth has passed through the orbit of Comet 209P, so we don't know exactly how big it will be, but the dust from the last few centuries of the comet are predicted to produce 100-200 meteors per hour at the peak. It could be nothing, since we're not very good at space weather prediction yet (that stuff is dark, man), or it could be the first of many great shows.
The Camelopardalid Meteor Shower is expected to last from 10:30 pm on May 23 to 7:00 am on May 24 EDT (7:30 to 4:00 am PDT), with the peak viewing time somewhere in the middle (3 EDT/midnight PDT, ±1 hour). Meteors will appear to originate out of the less known constellation Camelopardalis, between Ursa Major and Andromeda (and lying roughly 10° southish of Polaris, depending on the time of night).
That said, meteors can appear in any section of the sky in a meteor shower. The best time to view all meteor showers is after midnight, where the Earth faces forward in its orbit, though that effect might be less since the source is so far from the ecliptic.
Either way, get outside, try to find a dark place, and enjoy the show. Even if it's just stars out there, Mars and Jupiter are both very bright.
More info: http://www.nasa.gov/topics/solarsystem/ ... alids.html
METEOROLOGIST BRENT LAABS(producing his first forecast not involving hydrometeors)
-- ∇×V
The Camelopardalid Meteor Shower is expected to last from 10:30 pm on May 23 to 7:00 am on May 24 EDT (7:30 to 4:00 am PDT), with the peak viewing time somewhere in the middle (3 EDT/midnight PDT, ±1 hour). Meteors will appear to originate out of the less known constellation Camelopardalis, between Ursa Major and Andromeda (and lying roughly 10° southish of Polaris, depending on the time of night).
That said, meteors can appear in any section of the sky in a meteor shower. The best time to view all meteor showers is after midnight, where the Earth faces forward in its orbit, though that effect might be less since the source is so far from the ecliptic.
Either way, get outside, try to find a dark place, and enjoy the show. Even if it's just stars out there, Mars and Jupiter are both very bright.
More info: http://www.nasa.gov/topics/solarsystem/ ... alids.html
METEOROLOGIST BRENT LAABS(producing his first forecast not involving hydrometeors)
-- ∇×V