Hello Meteor Gazers,
Good news and bad news. The Leonids Meteor Shower peaked today, November 17th at 15:10 Universal Time. That’s the bad news or the good news? The good news is that even though the peak activity has passed us, one should still be able to see some straggling meteors from this shower until November 21st.
Want more good news, or reasons to keep your head up? Please bookmark the site and join the mailing list. I will be updating the site within the next week because we have some strong activity coming in December and January. I promise to bring you some interesting meteor facts related to the next meteor shower. Please visit the meteor shower viewing page and the glossary on this site, and as always…
Keep your head up!
- Meteor Mark
on Nov 17th, 2009 at 1:19 pm
I’ve been impressed with this meteor shower since the 2001 event. On that year I was outside at around 5:30 am MST, November 18th in southern Utah by Zion’s national park, and saw, what I now know as a boldie, streak across the sky from west to east. I saw it start about 45 deg above the west horizon and about 50 to 60 deg above the east horizon it exploded into about ten pieces and continued to about 35 to 40 deg above the eastern horizon before it burned out. This was the most spectacular one I’ve ever seen and when this happened it was just starting to show twilight on the eastern horizon. Absolutely spectacular! I watched the the shower last night and didn’t see any fireballs or anything, but it was ok. Going to check again tonight. Here in west Texas, San Angelo. By the way any Iphone users should seriously get the starmap Pro app if you’re wondering where to look. With the compass on the iphone and gps locater it makes it almost a no brainer. Thanks!
on Nov 17th, 2009 at 2:20 pm
Harry,
That’s awesome thanks for the comment. I just use my “owl eyes” to search the skies,
no iPhone necessary. 
I’m very happy to see your enthusiasm for meteors.
- Meteor Mark
on Nov 17th, 2009 at 2:27 pm
We got up early and watched from Chugach State Park near Anchorage. In an hour, we saw perhaps 20-25 (got one photo), but we saw almost as many Taurids as Leonids.
on Nov 17th, 2009 at 3:56 pm
Last night , November 16 , at 8:57 PM Eastern Time , under very clear (but light polluted) skies I saw a fireball descend straight down in the N.E. .
First it was shedding debris and then turned bright white , almost like a flare . I jumped on Google maps and estimated that it might have descended in the north end of St. Catharines , ON , but more probably out into Lake Ontario .
That’s the 3rd fireball I’ve seen this 2009 . One in the early spring , one during the Perseid’s moving west to east over Toronto , and now this one during the Leonid’s .
That’s a total of 5 for my lifetime and I must say that in my opinion , the more you look the more you will see .
Thanks for this nice column and a chance to share something very cool .
on Nov 17th, 2009 at 4:55 pm
Hmmm , well , after thinking about my post I realized that I should have said ” _IF_ it came down ” . The odds of that object actually surviving the impact with the atmosphere must be very slim . Obviously most objects just burn up , and even though most leave a brilliant white plasma trail , most meteorites are no bigger than a grain of sand .
No idea how anyone would be able to determine if an object looks as though it survived the journey , just by observing it’s characteristics along the descent path .
on Nov 17th, 2009 at 5:26 pm
Hi I would like to know if it’s posible to see the meteor shower today Tuesday17 at midnight?
on Nov 17th, 2009 at 5:29 pm
Because I yesterday I was waiting outside until 1:50am and didn’t see any I live in Panorama city Ca. What time would it be best
on Nov 17th, 2009 at 5:36 pm
Thanks Mark. I didn’t mention it was a bright blue which according to some meteor videos that is somewhat common for big ones. I just saw your post about the software for the PC a while ago and thought that I’d mention a more portable solution for anyone interested. There are a few apps in the app store like the one I mentioned. I wished that I could see one like that again. I do look forward to the Geminids and the Quadrantrids. Hopefully tonight might have more activity than last night.
on Nov 17th, 2009 at 6:21 pm
Saw big phatty about 5:35 this moring, here in Phoenix AZ, when I was just hitting the trail for some mountain biking.
on Nov 17th, 2009 at 10:01 pm
Meteor showers, taken in Silay City, Negros Occidental, Philippines
Time: 4:00 am.
Not very visible to the eye because of the cloudy skies. Became visible when photo was processed because of the long exposure (5 minutes, 71 seconds).
Aperture: F/4
Lens: 18mm
B Exposure at 343 seconds, approximately, 5.71 minutes.
Link for the photo: http://img12.imageshack.us/i/meteor2.jpg/
on Nov 18th, 2009 at 1:03 am
We are in Dallas, can we still see it tonight? If so what time? Thanks.
on Nov 18th, 2009 at 2:29 am
oh my god! i just saw a huge meteor that literally lit up the entire night sky to day! (Nov. 18, 2009 @ roughly 12:15 a.m. [southern utah.]) without a doubt, one of the most amazing things i have ever seen.
on Nov 18th, 2009 at 4:33 am
Well I’m in Utah working late at a construction site when about 12:30 am Nov 18th the sky lite up like it was daylight and I looked up to see the sky was green and a Meteor flew right over our heads I swear it must have been 300 feet in the air before it broke up and disappeared. All I can say is WOW!!! I’ve never seen anything like it before.
on Nov 18th, 2009 at 12:21 pm
Niagara,
You’re welcome, thanks for the comment.
- Meteor Mark
on Nov 18th, 2009 at 12:25 pm
Mary,
The answer is in the post you commented in, please read it again. You may also want to review the meteor shower viewing page and the glossary on my site.
- Meteor Mark
on Nov 18th, 2009 at 8:47 pm
The same year as 911 I went to Pensacola Beach to watch the meteor shower. I saw hundreds of shooting stars and fireballs decending. It was the most spectacular night of my life! Is there any possibility I’m not too late tonight to witness the same this year? I thought the 18th was the night to look.
on Nov 18th, 2009 at 8:55 pm
Jackie,
I doubt you will see that type of activity with the Leonids now. They are still active and peaked in the morning of November 17th. Take a look at the metor shower viewing page and join the mailing list. There are some great meteor showers coming in the next two months.
Keep your head up.
- Meteor Mark
on Nov 19th, 2009 at 12:19 am
i am disappointed i thought tonight was the night to look, had my scope, camera and nice hay bail ready for comfortable star gazing i guess day late visual short.
was really looking foward to it.molly
on Nov 19th, 2009 at 12:26 am
Molly,
The shower peaked in the morning of November 17th, it still remains active until November 21st, so you may see a few stragglers. If you saw my home page I have information on another shower peaking this weekend. The best time to view the remnants of the Leonids is in the morning hours before dawn. This is true of most meteor showers as they are better seen after midnight and before dawn. In the future while attempting to view meteor showers, you should not use a telescope or binoculars. Your best bet is to look toward the radiant constellation, in this case Leo, and try to see as much sky as you possibly can. Binoculars or telescopes will make you miss most of the action. It is also very difficult to photograph meteors without some type of camera that allows you to leave the shutter open and catch meteors as they stream by.
Thanks for the comment. I saw that you joined the mailing list, cool!
- Meteor Mark
on Nov 19th, 2009 at 12:27 am
Tyson and Damon, thank you so much for writing about your experience. I am in southeast Nevada, Mesquite, living on a golf course which faces the mountains and absolutely total darkness out the back of our home, and around 11:15pm our time (12:15 your time) I was looking out our window and saw the entire sky (to my northeast) light up. It was incredible!
on Nov 19th, 2009 at 12:30 am
Joan,
Thanks for the comment. Join the mailing list and mark December 13 & 14 off on your calendar, a great meteor shower coming.
- Meteor Mark
on Nov 19th, 2009 at 4:02 am
I just want to ask if it is still possible to see the Leonid meteor shower tonight and on the next night?Is it still the same as usual? I get rid of myself for not seeing them the other night because of the tropical weather we were experienced in our area.
on Nov 19th, 2009 at 4:47 am
Teddie,
The post states that the meteor shower is still active. Hope you catch some of the stragglers. If you found the site useful and want to thiank me, you can always buy me a cup of coffee. Keep your head up!
- Meteor Mark
on Nov 19th, 2009 at 11:50 am
on the 15th i was on a airliner traveling north over the south american Amazon…
i looked out my window and saw a meteor in the distance… but what was cool was that i saw it parallel to me! not against the night sky.
i could actually see it descend into the atmosphere! once in a lifetime… beautiful.
on Nov 20th, 2009 at 7:18 am
Last night 19th Nov. 09, here in Australia I saw what I think you call a fireball and the plasma trail which lasted for 4 seconds and left a smoke trail which stayed visible for about 5 minutes. This was about 8.30pm Eastern Standard Time, heading in a north eastern direction from Kingaroy Queensland. Again tonight looking is same direction (where I sit having a ciggy) I saw a smaller one – no where as big, and only lasted 3 secs all up approx. Hope to see lots more, Trev
on Nov 20th, 2009 at 2:20 pm
Hi,
I live in London. Unfortunately I could not see anything so far.
Is there still something “left” from the Leonid shower to see tonight or the next days? 2 years ago I was luckier here in London.
Kind regards
Greta
on Nov 20th, 2009 at 2:30 pm
Greta,
Please review the blog that you just posted in. There is also another blog on the homepage for another meteor shower.
Keep your head up.
- Meteor Mark
on Nov 24th, 2009 at 10:24 pm
I saw a huge meteor around 8:30 ET over Sarasota, FL. Could this have been a remnant of this meteor shower? The size from my view was about 1/4 inch and it had a beautiful long green tail.
on Nov 25th, 2009 at 8:34 am
Shannon,
Generally this shower ends November 21st. It is possible it was from the Alpha Monocerotids or a sporadic fireball or meteor. Not all sightings are related to a meteor shower as the Earth is bombarded by millions of particles everyday.
There is a cool video on the home page of etablog.com right now of the African Fireball. I update the site every Thursday so it may be located somewhere else on the site.
- Meteor Mark
on Nov 28th, 2009 at 10:15 pm
too bad it was cloudy and raining on and off the whole time but we did manage to see around ten to fifteen around 3 to 4 am
on Nov 28th, 2009 at 11:47 pm
I was walking north in the alley behind my house in Chicago this evening and saw this big, bright white ball streaking through the northern sky at about 17:05 CST. I have enjoyed “looking up” ever since Jr. High, but have NEVER seen anything this dramatic. I came home and tried to see if anyone else had put anything online about seeing this, but haven’t yet. Wow.
on Nov 28th, 2009 at 11:50 pm
Lisa,
Thanks for the comment. Hopefully some other people in Chicago saw it. You’d be surprised at how many of these events go unnoticed or unreported. People seem to be too busy in their day to day lives to care. Consider yourself lucky and special.
Keep your head up!
- Meteor Mark