Leonid Meteor Shower Peaks Tonight: How to Watch Online
Leonid Meteor Shower Peaks Tonight: How to Watch Online
targazers are hoping for clear, dark skies tonight when the annual Leonid meteor shower will be at its best, but if Mother Nature spoils your show, you can always catch the celestial fireworks display live online.
Scientists at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala., will broadcast live views of the 2012 Leonid meteor shower online from an all-sky camera at the center. Clear weather is forecast during the event, center officials said.
You can watch the Leonid meteor shower live here on SPACE.com via NASA. The webcast is expected to begin by 7 p.m. EST (0000 Nov. 17 GMT).
This sky map for the Leonid meteor shower of 2012 shows the location of the radiant (center) before dawn on Saturday, Nov. 17 - the peak viewing time.
CREDIT: StarDate.org
“We’re predicting 20-30 meteors per hour over the Americas, and as many as 200-300 per hour over Asia,” NASA meteor expert Bill Cooke of the Meteoroid Environment Office the Marshall center said in a statement. “Our forecast is in good accord with independent theoretical work by other astronomers.” [Leonid Meteor Shower of 2012 (Photos and Sky Maps)]