Leonids Meteor Shower news and links

AUSTRALIAN SPACEGUARD SURVEY

Leonid News and Links

The Leonid Meteor Event peaks around November 18 each year.

News

2 Nov 09 Space.com: Strong Leonid Meteor Shower Expected Nov 17
17 Nov 07 Space.com: Leonid Meteor Shower Peaks This Weekend
12 Nov 07 Armagh Observatory: The Leonid Meteors 2007 - It has been calculated that there will be no big meteor storm during this year's Leonid shower!
18 Nov 06 Space.com: Viewer's Guide: The 2006 Leonid Meteor Shower - [the peak] encounter is predicted for Nov. 19 at 4:45 UT. Armagh Observatory predictions - unfortunately it will be about 4pm in Sydney and the sky won't be dark for another 4 hours.
19 Oct 06 Space.com: Strong Leonid Meteor Shower Expected Nov 18
16 Nov 04 David Asher: Prospects for the Leonid Meteors November 2004.
15 Nov 04 Space.com: The Leonid Meteor Shower 2004: Modest Peak Expected Nov. 16-19.
21 Nov 03 Space.com: Leonid Meteor Shower Disappoints in 2003
17 Nov 03 Weather forecast for Sydney not looking good AND the estimated rate is low (NASA estimator)
12 Nov 03 IMO: Leonid predictions for 2003 - download the PDF by Vaubaillon, Lyytinen, Nissinen, and Asher (CC)
12 Nov 03 NASA: The L eonid meteor shower is coming. Twice.
16 Nov 02 IMO: Amateur's reporting form for International Meteor Organization (CC)
15 Nov 02 TPS: The Leonid Meteor Shower November 18-19, 2002.
15 Nov 02 THE MCNAUGHT/ASHER PREDICTIONS FOR 2002 (PDF) (CC)
15 Nov 02 Space.com: 10 Little-Known Facts about the Leonids + Catch a Shooting Star with Meteor Hunter, Dr. Peter Jenniskens + NASA Releases Palm-OS Software to Count Leonid Meteors. + Listen to the Leonids + Leonid Meteor Shower Has Begun!
15 Nov 02 NASA: NASA PREPARES FOR "LAST CHANCE" METEOR SHOWER. (NNN)
4 Nov 02 Space.com: Global & Local Forecasts for the 2002 Leonid Meteor Shower.
13 Oct 02 NASA: 2002 Leonid Meteor Storm Forecast
8 Jan 02 Popular Mechanics: Leonids Cause Visible Lunar Explosions
29 Nov 01 ESA: ESA scientists capture the Lion's offspring Down Under.
27 Nov 01 NASA: Listening to Leonids
22 Nov 01 ESA scientists listen to the Leonids, Space.com: A Grand Diversion: The 2001 Leonid Meteor Shower in Words & Pictures.
17 Nov 01 Guardian: Astronomers are gearing up for one of the greatest shows on Earth By Duncan Steel (CC)
16 Nov 01 Space.com: Defying Prediction: What You Can Really Expect From the 2001 Leonid Shower.
16 Nov 01 ESA: ESA Scientists Search For Shooting Stars In The Southern Hemisphere.
15 Nov 01 ABC: GREAT BALLS OF FIRE? LEONIDS 2001 - Australian guide.
15 Nov 01: Sydney weather is NOT looking good for the Leonids :( Saturday : Chance late showers/storms. N/NWwinds. Sunday: Showers/rain. Fresh S'ly change [might briefly clear the skies] . Trend for Monday Tuesday and Wednesday: Cooler with a few showers; clearing Tuesday...Update on 17 Nov: Sunday : Afternoon showers/chance thunderstorms. Late S'ly change. Monday : Showers. S/SE winds. :<(
13 Nov 01 Sunday Telegraph - NASA BATTENS DOWN HATCHES FOR METEORS (CC)
9 Nov 01 NASA SN: JAW-DROPPING LEONIDS + Space.com: MILITARY SATELLITES BRACE FOR LEONID METEOR SHOWER (CC)
8 Nov 01 Space.com: Earth Orbiting Satellites Brace for Leonid Meteor Shower.
7 Nov 01 Space.com: Leonid Meteor Storm! When, Where and How to Watch. (NNN)
7 Nov 01 SpaceDaily: LEONID METEOR SHOWER COULD BE ONE OF BEST IN HISTORY.(CC)
3 Nov 01 Wired News: COMING SOON: SPECTACULAR METEORS (CC)
30 Oct 01 Space.com: The 2001 (Leonids) Storm: How It Compares to History - updated story with info and links.
18 Oct 01 Discovery: BLAST FROM THE PAST (CC)
12 Oct 01 SpaceDaily: LEONID METEORS LIKELY TO STORM THIS NOVEMBER - A burst lasting perhaps two hours is expected in the predawn hours of November 18th for observers throughout most of North and Central America. The maximum rates should occur at 5:00 a.m. EST (corresponding to 4:00 a.m. CST, 3:00 a.m. MST, 2:00 a.m. PST). With no moonlight spoiling the view, the storm may briefly generate anywhere from several hundred to 1,000 or 2,000 meteors per hour for observers with clear, dark skies. An even bigger storm arrives 8 hours later for viewers rimming the far-western Pacific Ocean. Because these locations are on the other side of the International Date Line, this peak occurs before dawn on November 19th. Several thousand meteors may streak across the sky for an hour or so starting at 3:30 or 4:30 a.m. in eastern Australia (depending on location); 2:30 a.m. in Japan; and 1:30 a.m. in western Australia, the Philippines, and eastern China. (thanks CCnet)
9 Oct 01 Times: METEOR STORM 'WILL BE WORST SINCE 1966'.
25 Sep 01 Nature: NOVEMBER'S LEONID METEOR SHOWER COULD CAUSE COMMUNICATIONS HAVOC (CC).
11 Aug 01 SciAm: Perseid Meteor Shower Sets the Stage for November's Leonids.
23 Nov 2000 NASA: LEONIDS GALORE - Predictions by Rob McNaught and David Asher confirmed (again).
18 Nov 2000 Space.com: Satellites, Station Readied for Leonid Meteor Shower.
15 Nov 2000 Space.com: The Leonids, Coming This Weekend to Skies Near You.
12 Oct 2000 Inscight: The Moonlit Leonids 2000 (storms predicted for 2001 & 2002).
21 Mar 2000 Marshall Engineers Undertake Real-Life ‘Mission’ To Protect NASA Spacecraft, Crews in Event of Damage
23 Dec 1999 The right stuff .
19 Nov 1999: Leonids - after the storm

NASA Leonids rain in Spain! [the time of the peak] coincides with the maximum at 2:08 UT predicted by [David] Asher and [Rob] McNaught. In their model of the Leonid meteoroid stream, the 1999 storm was caused by a dust trail created when the Leonids parent comet, Tempel-Tuttle, passed by the Sun about 100 years ago. The Asher-McNaught model predicts even bigger Leonid storms in 2001 and 2002.
IMO Leonid meteor storm materializes around expected peak time
CCNet BRITISH ASTRONOMERS MAKE HISTORY: LEONIDS PREDICTION CONFIRMED Well done, David and Rob!
CCNet predictions for 2001 and 2002.
Lunar impacts detected.
Observations from Jordan. But what about the theory of the Leonid dust trails? By all accounts Asher and McNaught were "spot-on" with the predicted time of the maximum: They had indeed succeded in hitting the right time to +/- 5 minutes, and all of their skeptics expecting a later maximum (and therefore opting for observing sites much farther west) had lost.