november means meteor shower!!

that's right kids. every november we get to see the leonid meteor shower. what is the leonid meteor shower? it is debris from the comet temple-tuttle that crosses the earths path every 33 years. so every 33 years, the show is supposedly amazing. the last one was 1998 and between then and 2002, the meteors were more than 1000 per hour. i saw the one in 2001. it was amazing. i had never seen a meteor shower before. cold sitting out at lawrencetown beach, but totally worth it.

i haven't seen it since then. probably because no one wants to go sit out at a beach in november.

so apparently this year shoudln't be overly spectacular because the comet is on its way back out to the far reaches of the solar system. but i guess they're predicting meteors at the rate of 100 to 150 per hour. not too shabby. according to space.com the peak will be on saturday november 18 at 11:45pm EST [12:45am AST]. i want to see it.

but

i will be at the copper penny. or so the plan is at this point. i don't think that if i run out into the parking lot at 12:45 i'll be able to see anything. i'll be in the middle of the city. you need to be not in the middle of the city to see it. damnit.

so when is the next great meteor storm? 2028. i'll be around for that.

but

apparently that year jupitor is expected to throw comet temple-tuttle off from its current course through space. so we won't see it.

DAMNIT!