http://www.skyandtelescope.com/astronomy-news/observing-news/mays-surprise-meteor-shower/The dim, obscure periodic comet 209P/LINEAR is about to pass close by Earth — and bring with it a trail of debris that could make for an exciting meteor shower during the predawn hours of Saturday May 24th for North America.
Most skygazers are familiar with the usual "biggies" among meteor showers like the Perseids and Geminids. But if the calculations of celestial dynamicists are correct, we could experience a terrific meteor shower that virtually no one's ever heard of: the Camelopardalids.
Meteors from May 24th's early-morning display can appear anywhere in the sky, but their flight paths will trace back to a point (called the radiant) in the constellation Camelopardalis, the Giraffe, in the northern sky near Polaris. Stars are plotted for 2 a.m. local daylight time as seen from mid-northern latitudes.
Sky & Telescope illustration.Don't blame yourself for not knowing about this one — historic records show little evidence that the "Cams" have ever made an appearance before. They are bits of dust cast off from periodic comet 209P/LINEAR, an obscure, dim comet that circles the Sun every 5.1 years. It's far too faint for naked-eye visibility (13th magnitude as of May 22nd).
What's got dynamicists excited, however, is that Earth might might pass right through relatively dense streams of debris shed by the comet long ago.
This could create a strong burst of "shooting stars" on May 24th.Several predictions suggest you might see anywhere from 100 to 200 meteors per hour from a dark location free of light pollution. That would mean a couple per minute on average. Some (but not all) dynamicists think there's even an outside chance that the celestial spectacle could briefly become a meteor "storm," with more than 1,000 arriving per hour! But it's also possible that the display might be weak, with just a few dozen meteors or fewer visible per hour even in a dark sky. In any case, a high proportion of the meteors may be bright.
Timing is Right for North AmericaStorm or no storm, predictions do agree that the peak will likely occur between about 6:30 and 7:30 Universal Time on the 24th. This timing favors North Americans, though it means you'll have to be out around 3 a.m. Eastern Daylight Time; midnight Pacific Daylight Time. The outburst will be brief, lasting just an hour or two, though a somewhat longer duration is possible. Moonlight from a slender waning crescent won't be a problem.The rest of the world will miss out; all other land areas are either in daylight or on the side of the globe facing away from the incoming meteors.
The meteors will appear all over the sky, so you'll want to look in whatever direction gives you the darkest view. But follow their bright paths backward far enough, and they'll lead you to a location in the northern sky in the dim constellation Camelopardalis, the Giraffe, about 12° from Polaris.
Interestingly, in the past week there've been a few reports of really bright fireballs from this radiant direction. Are these early arrivals from the Camelopardalids? Maybe! They've certainly gotten the attention of dynamicist Esko Lyytinen. "This made me think that if the sky is clear here in Finland during the predicted shower, I will try to tune my fireball camera to observe in the daylight for a possible daylight fireball," he says.
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