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METEOR RADAR:
The Leonid meteor shower is peaking
now. You can listen to the shower even if you
can't see it because of clouds or daylight. The Air Force
Space Surveillance Radar is scanning the skies above Texas,
and when a Leonid passes over the facility--ping!--there is
an echo. Tune into Spaceweather
Radio for a live audio feed.
LEONID METEOR SHOWER:
Earth is passing through a zone of debris
from Comet Tempel-Tuttle, and this is causing the annual Leonid
meteor shower. If forecasters are correct, observers in Asia
could witness an outburst of 200+ meteors per hour between
the hours of 2100 and 2200 UT on Nov. 17th. Elsewhere, rates
should peak at 20 to 30 meteors per hour.
This morning in Maghera, Northern Ireland, amateur astronomer
Martin McKenna witnessed "the most incredible fireball
of my life. I was frozen with astonishment and only managed
to get these
images of the fireball's smoky trail as the fireball itself
faded. This was a sight I shall never forget!" he says.
Above: Leonid fireball debris on Nov. 17th.
Credit M. McKenna.
more Leonid images: from
Chris Peterson of Guffey, Colorado; from
Andreas Gada of Oak Heights, Ontario; from
Runar Sandnes of Reed, Norway; from
Victor van Wulfen of Sutherland, South Africa; from
Olivier Staiger in the Swiss Alps; from
Malcolm Park of Grafton, Ontario, Canada;
Leonid resources:
IN HOT PURSUIT:
Space shuttle Atlantis blasted off from the Kennedy Space
Center yesterday to begin an 11-day supply mission to the
International Space Station. Photographer Peter P. Lardizabal
was 22 miles from the launch pad, but he still got an eye-full:
"I took these pictures from the Canaveral National Seashore
using a 130mm telescope and a Canon
30D digital camera," says Lardizabal. "It was
a great show."
Atlantis is now orbiting Earth in hot pursuit of the ISS.
When the two spacecraft dock on Nov. 18th, astronauts will
begin unloading spare parts necessary to sustain ISS operations
after space shuttles are retired in 2010-2011. Some of the
equipment being delivered is large and at present can only
be transported by the spacious shuttle.
The shuttle-ISS combo is very bright in the night sky. Check
the Simple Satellite Tracker for flybys
of your hometown.
November
Northern Lights Gallery
[previous Novembers: 2008,
2007, 2006,
2004, 2003,
2002, 2001]
Explore
the Sunspot Cycle |
