Meteors!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Jackie L]

Hey..............just came back inside. The meteors were awesome. Like thin streams of lights that fade as quickly as they appear. Here in Virginia they were really visible. Well, back to bed I go.

[Sean]

Clear night,no moon......awesome!!!!!

[Pete Hanlin]

I had resigned myself to the fact that I'd never actually get up (even if I set my alarm), so I was prepared to miss the meteor shower. Oddly enough, I woke on my own around 4:30am and stepped out on the back deck.

Amazing! I laid back on my deck chair in the chilly air and counted at least 100 "shooting stars" before I stopped counting! While I was watching, I heard a noise in the pond behind the house (probably the gator that lives back there or a turtle), and I couldn't help but wonder what the animals must think about an unusual event like this...

Then I thought about the indians that used to live in the area (we have burial mounds a couple of miles from the house). I would guess that they would have thought a meteor shower somehow religiously significant (and it would have been all the more magnificent in a totally dark sky without the glare we create these days).

Of course, as I sat there in my bathrobe (which usually seems much warmer than it did after a few minutes outside on a November night), I knew that the show was caused by a meteor's tail. As a modern man, I know that this event happened last year at the same time and that it won't happen again for 100 years or so- so I sat smug with the knowledge that this is "no big deal..." ... and that is very very sad.

It seems to me that sometimes our "knowledge" takes some of the very true wonderment out of events! I mean, that meteor shower was magnificent and mysterious in its own right. Just because I know it was caused by the tail of a meteor named Leonid shouldn't make it any less wondrous. Yes, maybe I'm using a concept of God as some sort of crutch, but it seems to me just marvelous that things like this happen in our universe.

Just like the birth of a baby. Today, we know all about the development of a baby, we monitor all sorts of things about him/her as s/he progresses, and heck, we even know the gender of our baby long before the birth. Somehow, that seems to detract from the miracle that life is. Somehow, two people create another living, breathing person!

Sorry for the ramble... I just got to thinking as I watched each little flash of light last night. It seems to me that life is full of wonder if we take a moment to see it (like falling asleep and laying just so that you hear your heart thumping away like clockwork). To those of you who believe in some other deity (or no deity at all), I respect your thoughts on the matter... as for me, thinking that everything we know somehow emerged from nothingness without any thought or providence in the process is just unfathomable!

Pete "it was an awesome spectacle" Hanlin

[Diane]

My husband set the coffee to turn on so that it would wake us up, and it did. I didn't want to get up, but did anyway, and it was truly worth it. It was awesome. I suppose I didn't know that it was such a remote happening.

Couldn't go back to bed to sleep then, so just went into my craft room and sewed on some Christmas stuff, til time to go to church. Looks like bed will be early tonight.

Diane

[JennyP]

I awoke at 4 a.m.(with the help of an alarm clock) dressed, and went outside. I looked up where I thought the showers would be, and after counting four "shooting stars", went back inside to help my 19 year old daughter get up and dressed. I grabbed an old quilt for me and an afghan for my daughter, and then we went out to the front lawn. I rolled her wheelchair to a spot that was out from under the trees and level, and then I laid my quilt down beside her. We sat together for over an hour, pointing at the brightest streaks, oooohing and awe-ing over each one. My husband joined us for awhile, and can now state that he HAS seen a "shooting star", but since I have recently shared my head cold with him, he was not especially inclined to remain for more than a few minutes. But for us girls, it was a wonderful experience!
Until this morning, I could count on one hand the number of meteors I have seen shoot across the sky. Lara informed me that at least 2 this morning were long enough trails to make wishes on... I am so grateful to have had this experience with her!

[hcjilson]

It was a great display on the Cape.My nieghbor the meterologist and I were the only 2 up in our area.It was kind of like the Tim Allen thing with his neighbor over the fence but ours was over the hedge.Due to the shedding of most of the leave we had an unobstructed view of the eastern sky.They were coming down at a good clip and some really bright and long ones at that.It was the best shower I've seen since the Persids, I was 11.(1951)If you would like to know more about the Leonids and some of their more spectacular showers in the past, go to this website and read all about it!

http://www.skypub.com/sights/meteors/leonids/king.html

I was out this morning at about the same time an saw a couple of "leftovers"

hj

[ioconnell]

The Meteor Shower looked amazing on Tv.

I have never seen a shooting star myself (sob-sob )

[Judy Canty]

Well, I rose at 4:30 AM on Sunday morning, put on my "snuggies", padded down the front walk and saw...FOG. :angry: Maybe, next time....

[hcjilson]

Ian,
Forget the sob! sob! Having had occasion to closely observe you during late July and early August this past summer I have the following information for you concerning the observation of "shooting stars".
It is EXTREMELY difficult to see them if your eyes are closed.You must get out of bed well before 11:30 AM in order to see them!If you find yourself back on the Cape next August, I will personally intoduce you to the Persids and your curiosity will be slaked.
best from harry

[Sean]

Harry,
Indeed they were a awesome sight from our neck of the woods............just one question though?? Did you play the part of Wilson? :D

[hcjilson]

Sean,

Nawww!.... I played the part of JILSON! hj

[ioconnell]

Originally posted by hcjilson
Ian,
Forget the sob! sob! Having had occasion to closely observe you during late July and early August this past summer I have the following information for you concerning the observation of "shooting stars".
It is EXTREMELY difficult to see them if your eyes are closed.You must get out of bed well before 11:30 AM in order to see them!If you find yourself back on the Cape next August, I will personally intoduce you to the Persids and your curiosity will be slaked.
best from harry

Just Last night I looked in your almanac to if there was any Showers during times I could possibly be over. Great minds think a like. As for waking up early, I will have to get back to you on that one :D Although I did manage to struggle to arise from my deep sleep on one ocasion, Yes that was the day you woke up late .

[hcjilson]

I was not WELL that day!!!:D :D

[Sean]

Harry,
Just as i thought..........your reply even sounded like something wilson err um i mean jilson would say. :bbg:

[ioconnell]

This thread is turning to be out to be all about Harry,

even though you were not well I still got up 5 hours before my E.T.A. at the breakfast table.

Back to Meteors, what was the maximum occourence in the peak hour, I have heard some reports saying 80 and others in their hundreds.

[hcjilson]

Ian,
The shower was supposed to be at its peak at 5:09AM.I watched from about 4:15 to 5:45.Its almost impossible to count them.You will have a period of none, then a bunch in quick sucession, often 3-5 at the same time.While you are watching the ones you have chosen-others are falling out of your line of sight.You can see them out of the corner of your vision but as far as counting them is concerned, you will need someone quicker than I to tell you how to do it.Dave and I were watching the East by North quadrant.at about a 45 degree elevation.Some were coming in at 90 degrees but unfortunately you can't be looking at 2 places at once.Many are faint because most are no larger than a piece of sand.The larger ones were much more spectacular-brighter and longer lasting.
If you click on the website I gave above you will read about the shower in 1833 when someone in Boston reported over 200,000 an hour.Now that must have been something to watch!
Have a good Thanksgiving Day!best to Mum, Dad and Ciaran from harry and sue

[Steve Machol]

Unfortunately it was rainy and overcast in Northern CA so we didn't get to see any of it. :(

[Darris Chambless]

I'm with Pete and Steve,

I would echo many of the things Pete said as well as echo what Steve said about it being too cloudy here to see them. I did however go out to see if I could catch any of them. To no avail.

One of the things I did do though? I stood out in my backyard in the cool night air listening to the light breeze rustle the leaves and tree branches. It was awesome. I could see a couple of people out walking their dogs at that hour at the park just behind my house. It was so peaceful. I could have stayed in that moment forever.

No meteors for me but a whole lot of reflection ;)

Darris C.

[Steve Machol]

Darris, I probably would have done the same thing if I didn't have the flu!

[Sean]

I started to count........but got caught up in the moment. At times there were a couple every few seconds,then all at once the whole sky lit up with them,way too many to count. It was so quiet and peaceful,very serene. At times i felt that if it was anymore tranquil i would be able to hear them whisking by.

[hcjilson]

The tranquility was broken however, by a flight of F-16's taking off from Otis AFB taking off to patrol the skies over New York about 4:35 AM.Its a paradox how reality can overide something as innocent and awe inspiring as a meteor shower.The sound of the jets soon faded away and we were brought back to the wonder of mysteries of the universe.My nieghbor remarked, after one particularly brillient meteor in a shower that has been going on annually for millions of years, at how insignificant mankind really is, in the grand scheme of things.The sky was beginning to lighten and soon the sun announced that a new day had begun.
hj

[Sean]

Harry,
I had set the alarm clock to get up at 4:45am so i would not miss a thing.Turns out i didn't need it. Those F-16's shook every part of the house. As you probably know our house is just a bit outside of the flight zone of the base.Due to everything that has been going on i have seen formations between 4 and 6(Compared to 1 or 2).
I feel safer in that respect.But is it me? or are they flying a bit lower than they usually do?

[hcjilson]

Today's CCTimes reported the kids at Sandwich High are planting Daffodils in a welcome home message on the High School grounds that the pilots will be able to see on their landing approach.Maybe they're just practicing for next spring!
Harry j

[Jackie L]

Hey Harry...Jackie O here, the New Englander of all northerners here. Now that I am in Virginia Beach which includes Dam Neck (Navy) and Fort Monroe (Army) and Langley (Air Force) and Little Creek (Navy) and Oceana (Navy) and Norfolk (Navy) and I am sure to forget other bases, the F14 and unmistakenly the F18 are no more than the sound of freedom. Great to hear that Sandwich High are welcoming the sound of freedom as well.

[Homer]

Went out dancing Saturday night with friends to a Rotary benefit dance where a very entertaining band of everyday professionals, (doctors, lawyers and Indian Cheifs) palyed a night of music I could understand.

Got home just before 2AM in time to take our Rotary Exchange student and a friend out to Rocky Mountain National park and watch the "fireworks" on clear night at 8,000 feet and no city lights in sight.

Whow!

I laid there in my "eskimo" suit on a lounge chair wishing I had wide-angle vision, but thankful for what little I do have. I could not take it all in! 5 or 6 at a time just withing my small field of vision. I kept thinking about how small a part of the heavens I was really looking at, at one time. Made me feel really small.

If there is a creator / designer to all of this, he's a big'n!!

Have a little trouble with those who are confident that they KNOW God, after a night like that. As a friend of mine would say, If I could know God, I would be God.

Homer