Tuesday, November 14, 2006

Hong Kong: 19 November, Leonid meteor shower

Planet Earth passes through the 10-micron flakes of debris shed by the Tempel-Tuttle comet this weekend. Calculated peak time for meteor shows is 4:45am (GMT) on 19 November 2006.

Like the recently cancelled Mariah Carey Hong Kong concert,the Leonids meteor shower show will be a sight unseen by the starstruck of a little island in the South China Sea. Why? Too bright, daylight. For more details of why that will be so as well as an explanatory globe: Armagh Observatory

For a great report about the 2001 Leonid meteor shower, the astronauts in the International Space Station: Nasa

Even if it were night time, the chances of seeing the meteor shower locally would have been slim: (a) the atmosphere is too "hazy" and (b) there is too much ground-based light pollution.

If you are somewhere where you can and do see an abundance of shooting stars, don't forget to make a wish (or three) and may yr wish(es) come true. Just be, as they say, careful what you wish for.

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