Get ready for what could be the most awesome meteor shower of the year. On Saturday morning May 24 between 1 and 4 a.m. skywatchers across much of North America are in prime position to witness the birth of a brand new meteor shower – the Camelopardalids. At least 100 meteors per hour and possibly as many as 400 meteors per hour are expected with a peak viewing time around 2 a.m. Central Daylight Time. Short but sweet!
If predictions by meteor experts Peter Jenniskens of the SETI Institute and Esko Lyyttinen of Finland hold true, that morning, Earth will pass through multiple filaments of sand and pebble-sized debris trails boiled off comet 209P/LINEAR during previous passages near the sun during the 19th and early 20th centuries.
The comet was only discovered in 2004 by the Lincoln Laboratory Near-Earth Asteroid Research (LINEAR) automated sky survey. Unlike Comet Hale-Bopp and the late Comet ISON that swing by the sun once every few thousand years or million years, this one drops by every 5.1 years.
When closest at perihelion, 209P/LINEAR passes some 90 million miles from the sun. At the far end of its orbit it’s about Jupiter’s distance from the sun. In 2012, during a relatively close pass of that planet, Jupiter perturbed its orbit, bringing the comet and its debris trails to within 280,000 miles (450,000 km) of Earth’s orbit, close enough to spark a meteor shower.
This time around, the comet itself will fly just 5 million miles from Earth on May 29 a little more than 3 weeks after perihelion, making it the 9th closest comet encounter ever observed.
You’d think this close pass would make 209P a bright sight, but it’s only predicted to reach magnitude +11, faint enough to require an 8-inch or larger telescope to see. Most likely the comet is either very small or producing dust at a very low rate or both.
Next week I’ll post maps here on how to find it. For the moment, 209P/LINEAR glows dimly at around magnitude +14 and visible in large amateur telescopes. As it speeds from the Big Dipper south to Crater the Cup over the next couple weeks, we’ll be watching it closely. Check here for updates if the comet experiences any hiccups.
Meteors from 209P/LINEAR are expected to be bright and slow with speeds around 40,000 mph compared to an average of 130,000 mph for the Perseids. Most shower meteoroids are minute specks of rock, but the Camelopardalids (Cam-el-o-PAR-duh-lids) – let’s just call them ‘Cams’ – contain a significant number of particles larger than 1mm, big enough to flare as fireballs.
Viewers in the northern half of the U.S. and southern Canada have the best seats for watching the potential shower because the radiant is midway up in the northern sky during peak viewing time Saturday morning. For points farther north, all-night twilight will blot out the fainter meteors. For observers in the far southern U.S. the radiant will be low in the northern sky, reducing meteor counts.
There’s always the chance the shower won’t materialize, so prepare yourself for that possibility. At worst we may see zero meteors, but even the most conservative estimates predict a show at least as good as the Perseids and Geminids, two of the strongest showers of the year.
But if you’re an optimist – and what skywatcher can’t afford not to be? – plan to be out before the peak and face north in a comfortable lawn chair. Bring a friend and share a cup of your favorite hot drink while you watch this ultimate wild card event.
Shower observing times across Canada and U.S.:
* Eastern Daylight Time 1:30-5 a.m. with the peak around 3 a.m.
* Central Daylight Time 12:30-4 a.m. with a 2 a.m. peak
* Mountain Daylight Time 11:30-3 a.m. with a 1 a.m. peak
* Pacific Daylight Time 10:30-2 a.m. with a peak at midnight
If it’s cloudy or you’re not in the sweet zone for viewing, the SLOOH will cover comet 209P/LINEAR live on the Web with its telescopes on the Canary Islands starting at 5 p.m. CDT (6 p.m. EDT, 4 p.m. MDT and 3 p.m. PDT) May 23 Follow-up live coverage of the new meteor shower starts at 10 p.m. CDT. The broadcast will feature astronomer Bob Berman of Astronomy Magazine; viewers can ask questions during the comet show by using hashtag #slooh.
Astrophysicist Gianluca Masi will also have a live feed of the comet at the Virtual Telescope Project website scheduled to begin at 3 p.m. CDT (8 p.m. Greenwich Time) May 22. A second meteor shower live feed will start at 12:30 a.m. CDT (5:30 a.m. Greenwich Time) Friday night/Saturday morning May 24.
No matter what, you’re covered. Later this week I’ll update with a forecast and fresh comet photos and observations. Cross your fingers!