From the Reno Gazette-Journal
If you were among those disappointed by the relatively tame Perseid meteor shower earlier this month, heads up. The cosmos gets a chance to redeem itself this weekend with the potentially spectacular Aurigid meteor shower.
The key word here, though, is "potentially." From 3 to 5 a.m. Saturday, Earth will pass through the debris stream of Comet Keiss, a long-period comet that visits the solar system just once a millennium or so. The buzz among sky watchers is that the show could involve upwards of 500 meteors per hour, emanating from Auriga and blazing an unusual, bright blue-green.
Some meteor forecasters, however, disagree. Bill Cooke, of NASA's Meteoroid Environment Office at the Marshall Space Flight Center explains the discrepancy on the agency's Web site: "We have so little experience with ancient debris from long-period comets. ...Almost anything could happen - from a fizzle to a beautiful meteor shower." The shower, if there is one, is expected to peak at 4:36 a.m., so set those alarm clocks a few hours early to watch the mystery of the Aurigids play out. (Link)
Of course it's overcast here...bummer.
