Comments on: Meteor Activity Outlook for November 3-9, 2012

By: amsadmin

amsadmin — Thu, 15 Nov 2012 19:16:55 +0000

Junie,

In the Philippines, the Leonids will be best seen on the mornings of both November 17th and the 18th. The reason for this is that the exact time of maximum activity is predicted to be at sunset on the 17th in the Philippines. Since the Leonids are only visible between midnight and dawn, rates will be similar on both mornings. Do not expect too much activity from the Leonids as the Leonid storms of the early 2000′s are now over. One would be lucky to see 10 shower members per hour. A much better display will occur on the night of December 13/14, when the strong Geminid meteor shower reaches maximum activity.

I hope this helps!

Robert Lunsford
American Meteor Society

By: Junie

Junie — Thu, 15 Nov 2012 09:32:24 +0000

Hi there . I live in manila, philippines. Ive search the internet regarding the peak times and dates of the leonids…and it all says Nov 16 (evening) to Nov 17 (dawn)..are those US TIMES?…Because here in the Philippines, news reports say it will be Nov. 17 (evening) to Nov. 18 (dawn)..Im confused..pls help…

Thanks…Junie

By: Steph R

Steph R — Sun, 11 Nov 2012 14:17:56 +0000

Huge explosion near Indianapolis last night. Plane crash ruled out. Gas line explosion being explored. What about a meteor?

By: sky watcher

sky watcher — Sat, 10 Nov 2012 23:54:14 +0000

u met me: I also saw these in the sky. I was on the train coming home from work at the same time. At first I thought they were planes reflecting the sun. Then they appeared to very slowly dive in the skyline. There were about 4-5 that I saw. Very bright and slow moving. Would love to know what it was.

By: Lauren

Lauren — Sat, 10 Nov 2012 13:00:17 +0000

I believe I saw this too. I was coming home from work yesterday, November 9, 2012 around 5:15 driving down Rt. 1 through Broomall to get on 476 South (Right outside Philly). At first I just saw a 1 here and there. Little streaks of light in the sky moving very very slow, kinda with a pinkish glow. Then eventually as I approached 476, I counted 6 total that I could see in the sky at once. It was very weird. Not sure what it was but I’ve never seen anything like it before.

By: Meka

Meka — Sat, 10 Nov 2012 08:47:52 +0000

I was driving down the street and right before me and my boyfriend’s eyes we saw what appeared to be a shooting star! It was small and fast!! To experience that was and still is amazing!

By: Erika

Erika — Sat, 10 Nov 2012 01:20:47 +0000

Today I saw, what I thought was a fireball. I was just coming out of a store and it was like around 4 or 5 pm.
It was yellowish with reddish trail, however very short. It lasted more than 10 seconds. I’m pretty sure it wasn’t a plane
because they are grayish, but unlike this one it was very bright which caught my attention.

By: u met me

u met me — Sat, 10 Nov 2012 01:11:09 +0000

Yes it did, thank you very much for your response!!

By: amsadmin

amsadmin — Fri, 09 Nov 2012 23:38:25 +0000

These do not sound like meteors. Meteors are usually singular unless a large fireball has fragmented. Meteors also usually last a fraction of a second, up to several seconds for a fireball. Your event sounds as if they lasted a while longer.

I hope this helps!

Robert Lunsford
American Meteor Society

By: u met me

u met me — Fri, 09 Nov 2012 22:05:33 +0000

Around 4:40-50pm when leaving king of prussia in philly, I saw 3-4 bright comet like things in the sky.. I saw a shooting star before but it was fast.. these were bright slow.. what were they..

By: amsadmin

amsadmin — Thu, 08 Nov 2012 18:32:16 +0000

Monica, the Leonids are currently a fairly weak shower, producing only 10-15 meteors per hour at maximum. You would be better off waiting until the Geminids peak on December 13/14 to see a good display of meteors. they are active all night long on that date.

I hope this helps!

Robert Lunsford
American Meteor Society

By: amsadmin

amsadmin — Thu, 08 Nov 2012 18:29:39 +0000

Suzette, this sounds like a fireball to me. If this was your first first fireball, then they must be rare to see! Actually, even those who watch the skies for hours on end, a meteor as bright as the moon only occurs once every several hundred hours of viewing so yes, the brighter fireballs are indeed rare.

Robert Lunsford
American Meteor Society