Don't miss the meteor shower

Published on November 3, 2009

Sky will rain stars in two weeks as the Leonids blow in

A meteor shower will greet Thailand's stargazers |during the early hours of November 18.

Anyone interested in seeing the sky raining stars is advised to prepare themselves just before midnight on the 17th.

"If the sky is clear, we will see more than 100 meteors streaming down as the clock ticks past midnight," National Astronomical Research Institute of Thailand official Suparerk Karuhanont said yesterday.

The spectacular Leonid meteor shower will be visible to the naked eye, he added.

"The Leonids will be more clearly visible at locations with the least electric lighting," Suparerk said. "But for a closer look, bring along binoculars with 7x to10x magnifying power".

Beaches, mountains and other locations away from the light pollution of big cities will offer the best views.

"Stargazers should spend at least 15 minutes in the |darkness before the meteor shower comes," Suparerk advised.

He said clear skies would present a memorable scene. "In addition to the meteor shower, sky watchers will be able to see several star clusters including the Pleiades.

For more information on celestial treats, check out www.Narit.or.th.

-- The Nation 2009/11/03

Sky will rain stars in two weeks

I'd just like to say goodbye to all my fellow Thai Visa forum posters. It's been nice knowing you. (Now where's that "blind panic" emoticon?)

Gettin confused now, what lottery numbers to buy, should they end on 18 ?

Dude, that is an awesome name you got there You should copyright it

Gettin confused now, what lottery numbers to buy, should they end on 18 ?

Dude, that is an awesome name you got there You should copyright it

the only thing better is if he added the word 'quickly' to it.

As for the meteor shower MCA, this is just a warm up to 2012.

End of the world bkkjames? Another nail in the coffin for Thailand!

Sky will rain stars in two weeks

I'd just like to say goodbye to all my fellow Thai Visa forum posters. It's been nice knowing you. (Now where's that "blind panic" emoticon?)

The sky is falling....the end is near....the punishment for the sins of human being.....

Good news. Stupid Mayans panicking us for nothing.

A meteor shower will greet Thailand's stargazers |during the early hours of November 18.

Anyone interested in seeing the sky raining stars is advised to prepare themselves just before midnight on the 17th.

"If the sky is clear, we will see more than 100 meteors streaming down as the clock ticks past midnight," National Astronomical Research Institute of Thailand official Suparerk Karuhanont said yesterday.

The spectacular Leonid meteor shower will be visible to the naked eye, he added.

"The Leonids will be more clearly visible at locations with the least electric lighting," Suparerk said. "But for a closer look, bring along binoculars with 7x to10x magnifying power".

Sadly meteors' life span in the sky is too short for binoculars to be of any use, some fireballs last longer but are also more spectacular without binoculars.

Some years ago even in the bright lights of Pattaya we were treated to a brilliant display, however that is not normal nor is it expected for this years peak rate which is currently expected to be about 150-300 per hour, this maxium is predicted to arrive at shortly before 5am on November 18th (Thai Time), which is good as it's before sunrise although the brightning sky may affect observation.

Some of the hype in Thailand is because of some good recent years, but the forcast depends on previous coment paths and how recently the coment 55P/Tempel-Tuttle tavelled along that route, we are not due a really good year until well into the future.

Generally the best time to see any meteor display is in the early hours (3am - 5am before sunrise) as the earth moves through fresh space in it's orbit, however just looking at the sky at any time you should see about 10 per hour on an average night. much Better web site here.

Helpful star map for the Leonids.

Link to original image.

Thread Bump.

The image above is better replaced by this one.

Look to the Eastern skies from 2am - 5am.

North and South America: The best viewing times will be between midnight and dawn tomorrow morning, November 17th. Find a place away from city lights, then “look up and slightly east,” Bill says.

Asia: “Between 2:00 and 5:00 am on the morning of the 18th depending on the time zone.” Asia will experience the best of the Leonid shower, between 200-300 visible in an hour. If you happen to be in India, “peak will occur about 3:15 a.m. IST.”

Europe: “Leo [will] rise about midnight, and you should see Leonids beginning then. Max 25 per hour just before dawn,” Bill informs us.

Australia and Antarctica: If you are traveling down under, you will be able to see the shower between midnight and dawn, “but barely” Bill tells us. “The Leonids appear to come from the Constellation Leo...[which] doesn’t rise very far above the horizon” in Australia. The South Pole is left completely out and will not see any Leonids.

Text from meteor prediction web site.

Edited November 17, 200916 yr by Cuban