On the night of May 23-24, 2014 – if predictions hold true – Earth might be sandblasted with debris from Comet 209P/LINEAR, resulting in a fine new meteor shower!
The Eta Aquarid meteor shower in early May has passed, and, by all reports, it was a slow year
for these meteors. But don’t worry. In 2014, an exciting new meteor
shower – the May Camelopardalids – might come on the scene. And it’s
coming up soon! It’s predicted for the night of May 23-24. This
possible shower stems from Comet 209P/LINEAR, discovered in 2004. If
the predictions hold true, Earth might be sandblasted with debris from
this comet, resulting in a fine display of meteors, or shooting stars on the evening of May 23, and the morning of May 24. Mid-northern
North American latitudes are favored.
The peak night of the predicted Camelopardalid meteor shower is May
23-24, 2014. Because of the time predicted for the meteor display,
observers in southern Canada and the continental U.S. are especially
well positioned to see the meteors in the early morning hours of May 24
(or late at night on May 23). Will the predictions hold true? They are
not always 100% reliable, which is why, no matter where you are on
Earth, this shower is worth a try around the night of May 23-24. The
meteors will radiate from the constellation Camelopardalis (camelopard),
a very obscure northern constellation. Its name is derived from early
Rome, where it was thought of as a composite creature, described as
having characteristics of both a camel and a leopard. Nowadays we call
such a creature a giraffe! Since meteor in annual showers take their
names from the constellation from which they appear to radiate – and
since this meteor shower might become an annual event – people are
already calling it the Camelopardalids. This constellation – radiant point of the May 2014 meteor shower
– is in the northern sky, close to the north celestial pole, making
this meteor shower better for the Northern Hemisphere than the Southern
Hemisphere. Models suggest that the best viewing hours for this new
meteor shower are between 6 and 8 UTC on May 24. That is between 2 and
4 a.m. EDT (1-3 a.m. CDT and so on … translate to your time zone here).
Bottom line: On the night of May 23-24, 2014 – if predictions hold true – Earth might be sandblasted with debris from Comet 209P/LINEAR, resulting in a fine display of meteors, or shooting stars. The debris stream was laid down by the comet in the 1800s. People are already calling this shower the May Camelopardalids, taking its name from the shower’s radiant point in an obscure far-northern constellation. Will it be a meteor storm? Most recent calculations say no, but it might be a strong-enough shower to be thrilling!
- EarthSky
