Maybe terrific. Maybe a dud. New shower to look at.

[pgriz]

For those who like watching the sky, there is apparently a new meteor shower that is predicted to hit on May 24. See link here: Ready for May's Surprise Meteor Shower? | Sky & Telescope

As the article noted, it could be a dud, or it could be a meteor shower like few can remember. So if you have a dark and clear sky that night, it may be worth your while losing some sleep and seeing what develops.

 

[pgriz]

Just a bump for those people who enjoy watching the night sky. It'll be Saturday night, with the peak around 3 am on the East coast and just after midnight on the west coast of North America. Apparently a very narrow thread of debris, so Europe, Africa, Asia will all miss this one. For those who were trying to have an excuse to try their UWA on the night sky, this may be your opportunity!

 

[JustJazzie]

Wow! Thanks for the heads up! I think I'm gonna try and stay up for this! We should have a great view from my house If i can't keep my coffee pot full enough.

 

[IzzieK]

Thanks for the heads up...will pray for good clear weather as Mr. local Weatherman says it will rain the next few days.

 

[pgriz]

IF the weather cooperates, I will probably be at my cottage, but in a farmer's field, away from lights. The shower is predicted to peak at between 6:30 and 7:30 Universal time, (EST is GMT -4), so 2:30-3:30 EST the morning of the 24th. Extended forecast says that it will be clear on Saturday night/Sunday morning, with the current rain-making weather system clearing out by mid-Saturday. The moon will rise just before 3 am, and it's four days away from new, so it'll be a waning crescent (23% of full). Our local temperature is expected to bottom out at 12C, with minimal wind, so quite comfortable. In other words, I don't have many excuses to miss this.

 

[virginie24jb]

Apparently a very narrow thread of debris, so Europe, Africa, Asia will all miss this one. For those who were trying to have an excuse to try their UWA on the night sky, this may be your opportunity!

Really?? Bummer! I went out last weekend twice and wanted to go back this weekend. I used that meteor shower as an excuse to have my brother go back with me. But apparently it'll already be daylight for us when that will happen.

 

[pgriz]

Apparently a very narrow thread of debris, so Europe, Africa, Asia will all miss this one. For those who were trying to have an excuse to try their UWA on the night sky, this may be your opportunity!

Really?? Bummer! I went out last weekend twice and wanted to go back this weekend. I used that meteor shower as an excuse to have my brother go back with me. But apparently it'll already be daylight for us when that will happen.

Forecasting meteor showers is pretty inexact, so the forecast is based on a dynamic model, but reality may be quite different. Most well-known meteor showers are due to debris lost by comets over many thousands of years, and when the earth's orbit intersects that stream, we get the shower. The longer a particular comet has been shedding matter, the more the materials spread out, pushed by solar pressure, gravitational perturbations by the various planets, and other factors. Practically, anything within 12 hours of the peak time could be due to the same stream. In this particular case, the models seem to indicate a concentration of material (shed over hundreds of years), which may, or may not actually intersect with Earth. Hence the range of possible intensities of the shower.

 

[pgriz]

OK, just so that I don't confuse anyone - It's happening on Saturday morning (so the night of Friday May 23 - Saturday May 24).

 

[pgriz]

Bummer. we're going to be clouded out. Checked the clear-sky site - no breaks. Guess I'm going to get some sleep after all. Mid-west looks like it could be clear - good luck!

 

[IzzieK]

I have been watching here in MO -- we have cloud covers right now...hopefully when my dog wakes me up at 2AM it will be clear but I do not think I can get anything here, we have trees covering our north at the moment...

 

[Birddogyz]

2:17 am here in North Ga, not looking good so far. Clear skies but no show.

 

[IzzieK]

Yup! Been up for a good while and nothing -- just clouds! Bummer!

 

[pgriz]

Reports were that this was a rather sparse shower with about 10 meteors per hour. There is some discussion that the debris stream may have been incorrectly modelled, and may in fact be stronger on the 24th/25th. In any case, for those people interested in following this here is a link with some of from some people who did manage to get photos of the shower (not exclusively the cameleopardids): Spaceweather.com Realtime Image Gallery

 

[JoeW]

In was in Northern Virginia. Went out at 10:40pm on Friday, then 11:30pm on Friday, than 4am on Saturday. Nothing. Not really overcast but enough general mugginess to make many lights in the sky invisible. Didn't see any meteors.

 

[TammyCampbell]

I looked saw one good one around midnight but was out of my camera view. I didn't see any the rest of the night but my post production showed some action was out there.. I think I got the space station in one shot..https://www.flickr.com/photos/108104976@N05/