Concerning the new potential meteor shower- Astronomers, both amateur and professional, may have the opportunity to view a never-before-seen meteor shower during the morning of May 24th. Known as the Camelopardalids (named after the constellation of Camelopardalis, the Giraffe, from which the meteors will appear to originate), this meteor shower is generated by Comet 209P/LINEAR. Though this comet was discovered back in 2004, it has been orbiting the Sun and coming inside of the Earths orbit approximately every five years for, well, who knows how long! One thing seems certain though - debris that was ejected by the comet during the 1800s will be in the direct path of Earth on May 24th. Each year, Earth passes through the debris fields of numerous comet tails, which give rise to the annual meteor showers. It appears that Earth hasnt really passed through the debris field of 209P before that we know of, so this potentially great meteor shower would be a spectacle that no one alive has ever seen. Optimistic forecasts say that observers could see about 200 meteors per hour coming from Camelopardalis, which lies near the North Star, with a forecast best-time of 1:00AM - 3:00AM CDT. Meteor shower rates, however, are notoriously difficult to forecast accurately, so this could be a spectacular shower or a complete flop - we wont know until May 24th. Sky enthusiasts should find a dark location far from city lights to view the meteors naked-eye - telescopes and binoculars should NOT be used to view meteor showers as one needs a wide field of view to catch glimpse of the meteors streaking overhead. from Vanderbilt Dyer Observatory astronomer Dr. Billy Teets
Posted on: Fri, 23 May 2014 13:55:34 +0000
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