Leonids Meteor Shower! How could I not blog about it?

sI've never seen a shooting star in my life. Or I don't remember. Will try to catch some for a wish or two tonight.

From Perseid to Leonids - Meteor Shower crazy

In August of this year, I blogged about the Perseid Meteor Shower. I was excited because I usually find out about these stuff after the fact, but that time

I went out and walked around the compound for a couple of nights in a row, hoping to catch one. It turned out to be a disappointment: It was drizzling, and the clouds were too thick to see the sky, much less any meteor showers.

This time around, I'm optimistic. Local weather station PAGASA says...

"New Moon on November 17 ensures perfectly dark skies for observers of this shower under normal weather conditions."

The sky is also clear today, not a lot of clouds, which makes for a good view setting. A hot cup of tea, a comfortable chair and a warm sweater - I will go armed with a list of 100 wishes for the 100 meteors per hour spectacle I'm about to witness tonight. PAGASA adds:

"Trails laid down by the comet in 1466 and 1533 are expected to be the chief contributors to this shower, which peaks on November 17-18, at about 11:00 PM to 6:00 AM." (in the Philippines)

Perfect timing eh?

Watch the Leonids Meteor Shower in Asia

We've been having quite the Leo's share of celestial events this year - from the annual Perseid Meteor Shower to the Total Solar Eclipse in July. The Leonids will again be best viewed in Asia where it will be night time when the meteor shower peaks.

According to Space.com:

"It will be 12:40 a.m. in Moscow; 3:10 a.m. in Mumbai; 4:40 a.m. in Jakarta and 5:40 a.m. in Beijing."

I'll be tweeting about it tonight, so add me up: http://twitter.com/ryjr
See you later!

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You may also be interested in these related posts:

1. Leonid Meteor Shower 2009 Viewer's Guide 
2. Watch the Perseid Meteor Shower Tonight!
3. What is a syzygy?
4. Syzygy Watch: July 22, 2009 Total Solar Eclipse