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You might see quite a show in the night skies over the next couple of weeks – that is, if you can get away from the bright lights of the city and the clouds go away.
Tue Nov 10, 2009
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Aired 11/10/2009 on All Things Considered
Aired 11/10/2009 on Morning Edition
(Sacramento, CA)
The annual Leonid meteor shower will peak next week, but the meteors could start as soon as Tuesday night.
So what should you look for? Here’s Sacramento State astronomy professor Chris Taylor:
Taylor: “For most of the meteors, you’ll probably see a streak that might last just a few seconds. That would be basically a small dust particle that fell off the comet. If you get a particle that might be as large as the size of a pea or so, then you might see a much longer-lasting flash, a very bright streak of light. And it could even impact with a dazzling burst at the end.”
Taylor says there are only one or two meteors an hour on a typical night. During the meteor shower, he says we could see several different ones each minute.
The best night to watch will be November 17th – between 12:30 and 2:30am.
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