what will be the best time to view the Leonid meteor shower in the United States 2009?”
2009 Leonid Meteor Shower to Peak Tuesday November 14, 2009 09:00 AM by Haley A. Lovett The early morning hours of Nov. 17 will be the best time to view the Leonid meteor shower in the United States. How to Watch the Leonid Meteor Shower For those in North America, astronomers are predicting that the best time to view the Leonid meteor shower will be after 1:30 a.m. EST and before sunrise on the early morning of Nov. 17, 2009, explains Michael Bakich of Astronomy.com. The meteor shower can be seen this year from November 13-20. Watchers of the meteor shower might be able to see even more meteors than usual this year because during the meteor shower’s peak, the moon will be in the new moon phase and not visible from Earth (and also keeping the sky unusually dark). Experts say that between 20 and 30 meteors per hour will be visible from the U.S., or about half of the number predicted for this summer’s Perseid meteor shower. For sky watche
NASA also predicts an equally great view will be before sunrise the same day. This is the best viewing time because the moon will not be visible at the time. It will be entering a new moon cycle. NASA is estimating US viewers will be able to see between 20-30 meteors an hour. The shower could first be seen on November 13 and the predicted last day will be November 20. However, November 17 will be the optimal day for star gazers in the United States. Visit the NASA site, http://leonid.arc.nasa.gov/estimator.html, to determine when will be the best time to view the meteors where you live. It is called the automatic systematic articulated global meteor shower, Fluxtimator. The website also provides information on meteors and the history of meteor showers.
The early morning hours of Nov. 17 will be the best time to view the Leonid meteor shower in the United States. For those in North America, astronomers are predicting that the best time to view the Leonid meteor shower will be after 1:30 a.m. EST and before sunrise on the early morning of Nov. 17, 2009, explains Michael Bakich of Astronomy.com. The meteor shower can be seen this year from November 13-20.
