Unseen World!

Like every time a meteor shower is due or forecasted, viewers and astrophotographers all around the world will have their cameras and rolls ready to capture a moment of this phenomenal display of nature’s artist.

Predictions are coming in from meteor experts & researchers from around the world with regards to the level of activity that will be experienced in different parts of the world. A common consensus for this year is that the Asian continent will witness the brightest galore of shooting stars this time around. Astronomers David Asher from Ireland, Mikhail Maslov of Russia and Jeremie Vaubaillon of France have identified Indonesia and India as prime viewing locations. Even NASA’s Meteoroid Environment Office connoisseurs Danielle Moser and Bill Cooke are in agreement with the trio of astronomers.

Becoming visible either on the morning of the 18th or 17th of November (depending on which part of the world you are in), the Leonoid meteor shower is expected to flood the skies with approximately 20 to 30 shooting stars per hour. Not quite the stunning amount of the 1830’s or the early 1990’s where thousands of shooting stars were observed, 2009 is still anticipated to do better than the preceding years.

Mother Earth will be on a flight path through the fragments of meteoric dust from originating the constellation Leo. Since the smaller fragments are understood to be pushed away by the larger ones, one can expect to witness a shooting star with a longer than average trail that could burst into a fireball (called bolides).

During the 2009 Leonid meteor shower, you may see anywhere from 30 to 300 shooting stars an hour, depending on whether you’re in the right place to see tonight’s showy peak, experts predict.

With the highest number of meteors streaking across the skies around 4:45 p.m. ET on November 17, the full Leonids peak will be effectively invisible for viewers in North America and Europe.

But in Asia, the peak happens during predawn hours, so observers there will have a front row seat for this year’s display. (See a NASA map of the 2009 Leonids’ peak visibility.)