2009 Leonids Observing Report

One researcher of the Leonid meteor shower predicted an increase in activity for the 2009 display. Asia was to experience 150 to 200 meteors per hour at peak, while here in the US we would only observe 20 to 30 meteors per hour on November 17, sometime between 1:30 am and dawn.

While that number of meteors is not spectacular, it would be better than the normal non-storm year Leonid peak of from 10 to 15 meteors per hour.

Monday night the 16th we had a star party out at Seagrave Observatory for a cub scout pack working on an astronomy merit badge. Though I was in the dome of the Clark refractor, I would frequently walk out on the deck to see if I could catch a glimpse of an early Leonid. (Leo didn’t rise above the eastern horizon until around midnight, so I really didn’t expect to see many, if at all.) And my expectations were realized. And no one out on the property saw any either.

After the scouts left, Jim Hendrickson and I sat on the east facing benches outside of the meeting hall, chatting about this and that topic in astronomy. All the while we were gazing towards the eastern sky, hoping to see a meteor or two. Some scattered clouds did pervade the sky, but a clear hole remained above us for quite a while. However, thicker clouds to the north and west began to roll in and we packed up and went home.

I arrived home around 11:00 pm. The sky had scattered clouds, but there were few holes between them. It was still too early, in my opinion, to seriously begin observing, so I set my alarm for 1:30 am and caught a few winks.

At 1:30 many of the clouds had disappeared, so I went out on my porch, which faces east, and began my quest for a few Leonids. I had my back to my house and was able to scan from the east to zenith, and from the north to the south along my meridian. The temperature was 44 degrees F. Soon all the clouds vanished, and my limiting magnitude was between 5.5 and 6.0. And it was nice once again to see Mars, about 6 degrees east of M44, the Beehive Cluster.

One Leonid of about 1st magnitude appeared to the east of Betelgeuse, leaving a two second train of dust behind it. Not bad. Much later a bright Leonid, perhaps as bright as Jupiter, shot about 15 degrees to the west of Sirius. I saw it disappear below my tree line to the south. These were the highlights.

I observed until 3:20 am. The infrequent activity forced the early retirement issue, but I was tired anyway. Unless something wonderful happened between that time and dawn, we did not get the predicted enhanced peak rate here. Over the almost two hour timeframe I observed only 10 Leonids and 5 sporadics.

Regardless, I don’t regret spending some quality time out there under the stars, shooting or otherwise! So many of the major meteor showers are clouded or mooned out that I try to take advantage of every favorable opportunity when I am able.

And now I am getting psyched up for the Geminids on the night of the December 13 -14, when a moon free and hopefully cloud free sky will reward us with 60 to 100 meteors per hour. That shooting star display is one you won’t want to miss!!

My Geminid column will be in the December Skyscraper.