Reminder: Leonid Meteor Shower Tonight

Forgot to mention it earlier. If you're more fortunate than me and not stuck in the city with no sky to be seen, you might remember to look up late, late tonight.

Sky-watchers in North America can expect to see up to 30 meteors hourly tonight as the annual Leonid meteor shower peaks in the wee hours of Tuesday, Nov. 17. Earth will cross the first meteor-producing stream on this date starting at around 1 a.m. PST, experts predict.
This shower, consisting of debris from Comet Tempel-Tuttle, may not be as grand as the Perseids of this past summer (a recent year’s meteor is pictured above, in Joshua Tree National Park), but the show should still be worth watching.
And it’ll be unusual. “A remarkable feature of this year’s shower is that Leonids will appear to be shooting almost directly out of the planet Mars,” said Bill Cooke of NASA’s Meteoroid Environment Office on a NASA blog.

Lemme know if you hear (or have heard) the mystery meteor hiss. I did when I was in highschool watching and I still can't explain it. Maybe it is all in our heads?

Thanks to @SarahW for the reminder.

Posted by: Gabriel Malor at 10:47 PM

Comments

1 You should watch Sergei meteor shower instead. Just as good, much cheaper.

Posted by: Monty at November 16, 2009 10:53 PM (L12sc)

2 Please let tonight be the night..

I can't wait for 2012.. please something hit the earth tonight!!

Posted by: Dave C at November 16, 2009 10:53 PM (qmecx)

3 Don't worry. Obama will make sure they cause no harm.

Posted by: eman at November 16, 2009 10:54 PM (cydHn)

4 Due to global warming, we expect the Leonids will become stronger and more devastating.

Posted by: Al Gore at November 16, 2009 10:55 PM (MMC8r)

5 And the stars, hath given gaze upon her book, brings forth a celebration of renewal and joy to thy Lady Palin.

Posted by: enoxo at November 16, 2009 10:56 PM (+J6OV)

6 I am the first meteor president.

Posted by: B. H. Obama at November 16, 2009 10:58 PM (0/azW)

7 10 inches of rain predicted in the mountains tonight. I looked outside a few minutes ago. The sky looks like swirling chocolate pudding. I think I'll pass on this one but, hey, thanks for the heads up.

Posted by: Barbarian at November 16, 2009 11:00 PM (EL+OC)

8 wheeeeeeeeee!

Posted by: Kal-El at November 16, 2009 11:07 PM (KSiz7)

'Meteor hiss' AKA 'electrophonic sound' has been shown by Dr. Colin Keay to be a genuine phenomenon caused by radio noise from the disturbed trailing plasma, converting into audio hiss from interaction with materials near the witness. We realized this in the early 1980s when space shuttle entries across Texas were observed to cause the same 'hiss' phenomenon.

You ain't crazy -- at least about this.

Posted by: JimO at November 16, 2009 11:09 PM (GbFPe)

10 the spam. it's getting smarter.

Posted by: LikeATimeBomb at November 16, 2009 11:12 PM (dwwPD)

11 yep, i've heard it for sure, and during leonids. It was mid-1970's I think. Sounded like you'd expect a speeding burning rock in air to sound. whooooshhh... what's the mystery? Saw the smokey trails from a few, 3-4 maybe, drift away in the breeze. They probably came very close to hitting ground, but looked to burnup in the air. It was very cool.

Posted by: dp at November 16, 2009 11:24 PM (SlXk4)

12 I knew the Governor would oppose Obama.

Posted by: Corona at November 16, 2009 11:25 PM (+xghX)

13 Am expecting a Golden Shower when AF One flies overhead. A Golden Shower of riches!

Posted by: Big Fat Meanie at November 16, 2009 11:32 PM (DPM1U)

14 These noble space travelers, the meteorites, are sacrificing themselves to protest our rape of Mother Gaia!

Posted by: Aging Hippy Douche at November 16, 2009 11:34 PM (s3AIY)

15 ... sounds like Unclefacts, just getting in a little light practice with his BB Gun.

Posted by: Huckleberry at November 16, 2009 11:35 PM (F71c5)

16 Wow meteors will look like their shooting out of mars. Hey you know what would be cooler? If they looked like they were shooting out of Uranas.

Posted by: Krazy Kat at November 16, 2009 11:37 PM (kM/ZI)

17 Where the heck is UncleFacts? Out guiding them in or what?

Posted by: Peaches at November 16, 2009 11:38 PM (9Wv2j)

18 The Charlie Brown ones hit the Moon.

Posted by: eman at November 16, 2009 11:39 PM (cydHn)

19 Good thing there aren't any Triffids around.

Posted by: BeckoningChasm at November 16, 2009 11:39 PM (eNxMU)

20
Wake me when the Prejean shower is visible.

Posted by: Flying Monkey at November 16, 2009 11:43 PM (Oxen1)

21 Good thing there aren't any Triffids around.

Obama administration == pod people.

Posted by: Purple Avenger at November 16, 2009 11:43 PM (yqjeF)

22 In honor of Unclefacts. I'm sure Gabe meant to link it.

Posted by: Peaches at November 16, 2009 11:44 PM (9Wv2j)

17 / Peaches:

... yeah, I can't hardly believe this thread was open for almost an hour before mention of The Summoner.

Posted by: Huckleberry at November 16, 2009 11:44 PM (F71c5)

24 Another reminder: If you live in the U.S., the peak occured between 1 pm, (west coast), and 4 pm, (east coast). Nothing much left to see.

Posted by: DngrMse at November 16, 2009 11:47 PM (wynRm)

25 methinks you might have your ams and pms mixed up danger mouse...

Posted by: LikeATimeBomb at November 16, 2009 11:49 PM (dwwPD)

26 yeah, I can't hardly believe this thread was open for almost an hour before mention of The Summoner.

This is probably like his High Holy Day! He's probably running naked out in the desert right now.

Posted by: Peaches at November 16, 2009 11:53 PM (9Wv2j)

27 Nothing much left to see.

Ooh, Crumbs! Coming Chief!

Posted by: Penfold at November 16, 2009 11:54 PM (s3AIY)

28 Curses! You have foiled my evil plan yet again Danger Mouse!

Stiletto! To the Frog Flyer!

Posted by: Baron Silas Greenback at November 16, 2009 11:59 PM (s3AIY)

He's probably running naked out in the desert right now.

Huh. I figured the summoning was more like Zeus on a mountain top, but yeah I'll go with yours. Kratos has the high ground.

Posted by: Huckleberry at November 17, 2009 12:00 AM (F71c5)

30 As Gabe mentioned, in LA about all we can see up there are the police helicopters. So, no need to stay up late.

Posted by: Peaches at November 17, 2009 12:04 AM (9Wv2j)

31 (If my wife ever reads my comments on this thread the guys in white coats will be coming for me)

Posted by: Huckleberry at November 17, 2009 12:04 AM (F71c5)

32 Is the mystery meteor hiss something like the female orgasm?

Posted by: gebrauchshund at November 17, 2009 12:13 AM (ZTGFz)

33 I heard that hiss too. Turned out it was Barney Fag and a friend in the bushes.

Posted by: Dack Thrombosis at November 17, 2009 12:16 AM (P33XN)

34 I dunno about the hiss. When I lived in Montana I saw fargin' huge one, and it wasn't even dark yet. It was close. I was 8, and thought it was a plane crashing. But I heard no explosion or anything. I saw bright flame, smoke, but heard no noise. It was in 1974, if anyone cares to research it. I saw a picture in an astronomy book that someone had snapped of what I can assume is the same meteor flying over the Grand Tetons in Wyoming. Apparently it was a large meteor that skimmed our atmosphere and shot out of it again.

I have heard the crackling hiss of Aurora Borealis though. Weird and awesome.

Posted by: Pug Mahon at November 17, 2009 12:29 AM (yiNoG)

35 Bummer.

Heavy cloud cover [and a chance of rain].

Oh well. Easy come, easy go.

Posted by: CPT. Charles at November 17, 2009 12:56 AM (lYKj1)

36 Peaches. Go to piriform.com and download ccleaner. It will remove your flash cookies.

Posted by: yard dog at November 17, 2009 01:40 AM (2Yvlt)

37 Went outside. No meteors.

Barry musta smiled 'em right outta the sky.

Posted by: Dack Thrombosis at November 17, 2009 01:53 AM (P33XN)

38 Meteors? Never heard of them.

Posted by: Charles Gibson at November 17, 2009 02:04 AM (CoDwG)

39 Tonight we dine in Hell!

Posted by: Where did you think those meteors came from? at November 17, 2009 02:06 AM (CoDwG)

40 Its been overcast with a bit of rain tonight in Palm Beach. No meteors through the roof so far. Obama's aura must be acting like an Asgard shield.

Posted by: Purple Avenger at November 17, 2009 02:31 AM (ctICi)

41 Wow,the meteor is strange.But sometimes we need the good laptop to deal with the photograph,so we need to do the lesson about the meteor,go to buy the laptop battery and ready to handle the meteor.

Posted by: Laptop-battery at November 17, 2009 02:32 AM (etU68)

42 ...or, we can just shove that battery up your ass. Right before we shove a meteor up your ass sideways.

Maybe you'll glow like a Chinese New Year lantern.

Posted by: Bruno Toughguy at November 17, 2009 02:49 AM (6aCcV)

43 Is Uncle gonna summon some bacon, as well?

Posted by: Damn Sockpuppet at November 17, 2009 02:53 AM (TdbKQ)

44 Why is there a moose on this plane?

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Posted by: Nike air max 90 shoe at November 17, 2009 03:04 AM (9sgy5)

46 When the meteors hit the US it is, according the MSM,......

1) Bush's fault

or....

2) they did not hit the US and earth because of nature.
They were just "lone wolf" meteors"

..........see! It is so simple to be so stupid. No thinking required!

Posted by: hous bin pharteen at November 17, 2009 03:17 AM (pU4D7)

47 41 Wow,the meteor is strange.But sometimes we need the good laptop to deal with the photograph,so we need to do the lesson about the meteor,go to buy the laptop battery and ready to handle the meteor.

Posted by: Laptop-battery at November 17, 2009 02:32 AM (etU6

How many Laptop batteries would I need to buy if I wired them up in series and used them to make your testicles glow, like a meteor, for about an hour?

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Posted by: aion at November 17, 2009 03:57 AM (Iyb05)

51 cool

Posted by: Sock Puppet #1 at November 17, 2009 04:40 AM (Cta0m)

52 Why is there a moose on this plane?

At least it's not snakes.

Posted by: Samuel L. Jackson at November 17, 2009 04:47 AM (SwkdU)

The only stuff in the sky here is white and fluffy and has been coming down for over an hour.

Posted by: HH at November 17, 2009 05:15 AM (+jvXp)

54 The only stuff in the sky here is white and fluffy and has been coming down for over an hour.

Dude, avoid the brown acid!

Posted by: fluffy, caucasian at November 17, 2009 05:24 AM (SwkdU)

55 was to cloudy in central Va at 4 A.M to see anything in the sky.

Posted by: trailortrash at November 17, 2009 05:43 AM (2Z+7j)

56 Well, it could be worse. I'm pretty sure it's not Volcanic ash. Still, I'm gonna have to brush off my car if I want to go anywhere.

Posted by: HH at November 17, 2009 05:52 AM (+jvXp)

If you've seen one eclipse or one meteor shower, you've seen them all. Thank God that I have better things to do than to waste my time looking up at the sky.

I can visualize you dimwits looking up at the sky, and saying, "Duh". LOL

Posted by: Sock Puppet #1 at November 17, 2009 06:34 AM (Cta0m)

58 If you've seen one ... you've seen them all. Thank God that I have better things to do than to waste my time looking up at the sky.

I can visualize you dimwits looking up at the sky, and saying, "Duh".

different people have different interests, but you knew that

Posted by: fluffy, diversitarian at November 17, 2009 06:50 AM (SwkdU)

Diversitarian, eh?

That's funny...

Posted by: HH at November 17, 2009 06:54 AM (+jvXp)

60 That's funny.

Hey, different strokes for different folks. At times, I can be very different ;-)

Posted by: fluffy, diversitarian at November 17, 2009 06:58 AM (SwkdU)

61 It seems that every year when these come around the weather here is always overcast.

Posted by: Vic at November 17, 2009 07:23 AM (CDUiN)

Well Vic, at least that will keep you from going blind when the damn things do appear.

Silver lining in them there clouds.

Posted by: HH at November 17, 2009 08:07 AM (+jvXp)

Here's a link to Keay's home page and articles on the 'meteor hiss' phenomenon.

http://home.pacific.net.au/~ddcsk1/

Posted by: JimO at November 17, 2009 08:14 AM (GbFPe)

>> Leonids will appear to be shooting almost directly out of the planet Mars

They are shooting directly out of Mars.

It's the invasion.

Posted by: Dave in Texas at November 17, 2009 08:14 AM (WvXvd)

65 Well Vic, at least that will keep you from going blind when the damn things do appear.

And here I thought that watching that Ms Universe video would make you go blind.

Posted by: Vic at November 17, 2009 08:18 AM (CDUiN)

66 Well, I guess Uncle Facts has been busy. Good show!

Posted by: Minnie Rodent at November 17, 2009 08:19 AM (PZLW0)

JimO, interesting link. Makes me want to upgrade my dial-up from 14.4 to 28.8. Question is, do I really need Windows '95?

(Yeah, that page is that old).

Posted by: HH at November 17, 2009 08:25 AM (+jvXp)

Meteors?

Is Diablo returning to unleash the forces of Hell yet again?

Posted by: Kratos (on the back of Gaia, scaling Mt Olympus) at November 17, 2009 08:27 AM (9hSKh)

69 OT: Meteors created and saved! http://twitter.com/ParisParamus

Posted by: ParisParamus at November 17, 2009 08:28 AM (1Bc4s)

And here I thought that watching that Ms Universe video would make you go blind.

No. Watching won't make you go blind. It's what you're doing will watching that will make you go blind.

Posted by: harleycowboy at November 17, 2009 08:30 AM (JKGfQ)

71 I heard that 'meteor hiss' many years ago, but it sounded more like tearing cloth than a hiss. I've gone out meteor-watching many times since then, but that was the only time I ever heard anything. So having already heard the hiss, I'm now looking forward to the bacons.

Posted by: Golem14 at November 17, 2009 08:35 AM (2X8VA)

while watching that will make you go blind.

MORE COFFEE STAT!!!!!!

Posted by: harleycowboy at November 17, 2009 08:45 AM (JKGfQ)

Sorry for the O/T, but since the daily headlines aren't up yet, I wanted to share this little gem for those wanting to write a few lines to the "letters to the editor" but are too lazy. Seems one of our friends on the DNC mailing list has figured out how to use it to her advantage:

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4. Write your letter to the editor against the healthcare bill.

5. Now click Next

6. Preview your letter to the editor and click Send Email

Posted by: RushBabe at November 17, 2009 08:45 AM (LKkE8)

The meteor hiss is kind of one of those things that have been dismissed over the years. But people kept reporting it, and finally someone took a serious look and realized that yes, it can and does indeed happen.

Sort of the same with earthquake lights, ball lightning, rogue waves.

Methinks it's just the problem with rare phenomena . Hard to reproduce and gather evidence on.

Posted by: HH at November 17, 2009 08:45 AM (+jvXp)

“A remarkable feature of this year’s shower is that Leonids will appear to be shooting almost directly out of the planet Mars"

That's right. That's what we want you to think.

Posted by: Commander Zorg - Martian Invasion Squadron Z-Alpha at November 17, 2009 09:29 AM (3Wewy)

76 Well, that'll teach me to go to bed without checking Ace's---I forgot about the Leonids.

We've heard the hiss. Really, really, really eerie thing. Were sitting out one early morning in Fort Walton Beach, FL, all bundled up from the, what, 50 degree chill, drinking hot cocoa during a spectacular Perseid display. We noticed the hiss coinciding with a few larger meteors. My hubby, a physics, math, aero test pilot geek just refused to believe it was from the meteor's we were watching. Must just be a coincidence. Found out from an astonomer friend about the 'hiss' being something to do with resonance and leaves and twigs. It took the word of an astronomer to confirm what he heard with his own ears...but yeah, it was cool.

Have seen numerous showers since, but never again heard the hiss.

Posted by: sow'nreap at November 17, 2009 09:55 AM (nYF3I)

So 'reap, are you saying your hubby wouldn't believe his own lying ears?

(laughs)

Posted by: HH at November 17, 2009 10:16 AM (+jvXp)

HH: "The meteor hiss is kind of one of those things that have been dismissed over the years. But people kept reporting it, and finally someone took a serious look and realized that yes, it can and does indeed happen. Sort of the same with earthquake lights, ball lightning, rogue waves. Methinks it's just the problem with rare phenomena . Hard to reproduce and gather evidence on."

It was impossible to predict in advance until we noticed here around Houston that space shuttles fireballing overhead at 40 miles up, doing mach 25, to land in Florida, were producing it.

The phenomen is also highly dependent on 'receptor material' near the ear-witness -- dry stuff like pine needles, frizzy hair, some types of eyeglasses, NOT tooth fillings (grin), some flat aluminum siding walls.... still bizarre, but no longer "unscientific".

Posted by: JimO at November 17, 2009 10:19 AM (GbFPe)

79 26 yeah, I can't hardly believe this thread was open for almost an hour before mention of The Summoner.

This is probably like his High Holy Day! He's probably running naked out in the desert right now.

Posted by: Peaches at November 16, 2009 11:53 PM (9Wv2j)

The video will probably be up on youtube soon.

Posted by: Unclefacts, Summoner of Things, Some Stuff, and Other Things at November 17, 2009 11:00 AM (erIg9)

80 I am the first Leonid President!

Posted by: Barry I at November 17, 2009 11:11 AM (FcR7P)

“A remarkable feature of this year’s shower is that Leonids will appear to be shooting almost directly out of the planet Mars,” said Bill Cooke of NASA’s Meteoroid Environment Office on a NASA blog.

"Meteors"? Yea right. I'm loading-up my shotgun and lining my hats while you fools sit around and watch the Martian ships launch.

FOOLS!

Posted by: Max Entropy at November 17, 2009 12:08 PM (uuZjB)

I am the first Leonid President!

Like hell. Brezhnev beat you to it.

Posted by: Wm.Herschel, Discoverer of Uranus at November 17, 2009 01:39 PM (/VEEI)

83 In Soviet Russia, Leonid watches you.

Posted by: Yakov Smirnov at November 17, 2009 02:06 PM (fWdId)

84 I heard the hiss years ago. I was up in the mountains and instead of the standard white streak I saw a distinct fireball. It seemed to last for about three seconds and I could actually track it as it crossed the sky. It looked like it was actually going to hit one of the mountains and I had a serious pucker moment, expecting to see a flash of white next. Strangely, not as fun as it sounds.

And yeah, it made a hiss. Though I remember it more like sizzling.

Posted by: Toboti at November 17, 2009 02:12 PM (k3O59)

85 Its in your heads.

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