Every August for the past several years, I have watched the Persius meteor shower. I plan on trying to watch the Leonid shower this weekend.
The meteors of the Perseid meteor shower appear to radiate from the constellation of Perseus. In Greek and Roman mythology, Perseus was the hero who killed the Gorgon Medusa (of the reptilian hairdo and petrifying look).
Here’s excerpts from an email I received about the Leonids meteor shower.
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
From: “Robert Lunsford” <lunro.imo.usa@home.com> | Block Address | Add to Address Book
Organization: ALPOMS, AMS, & IMO
To: “Meteor Alert” <meteor@skypub.com>
Subject: AstroAlert: The Leonids to Provide an Unforgettable Show in November
On Sunday morning November 18, early morning risers in the Americas have a chance to witness a true shower of meteors provided by the Leonids…
For those located in the Americas the Leonids are predicted to reach maximum activity between 10 and 10:30 Universal Time on Sunday morning November 18th. This corresponds to 5:00-5:30AM EST, 4:00-4:30AM CST, 3:00-3:30AM MST, and 2:00-2:30AM PST.
Other peaks are predicted to occur later near 17:30 and 18:15 Universal Times. These later times favor the Eastern Pacific area, Eastern Asia and Australia. Since these areas are located west of the International Date Line it will be important to note that from those locations the meteor shower will occur on Monday morning November 19 local time…
No one knows precisely how many meteors will appear. Experts predict that the maximum activity seen near 18:15 UT will produce the most activity. Let me state that if you are located in any of the areas mentioned above you will most likely witness the most impressive meteoric display to be seen during your lifetime. So this is definitely an event not to be missed! Being on a weekend I would suggest traveling to an adjacent county or state to escape cloudy skies. Your local weather bureau web site provides links to infrared satellite pictures that show the higher clouds at night. This is invaluable resource when trying to find the nearest clear skies.
One should plan to start observing at least one hour before the predicted time of maximum activity just in case maximum activity arrives early. Don’t expect to see much activity by strolling outside and simply looking up. Your eyes need time to adjust to the dark…
To see this display in all its glory you need to get away from all sources of artificial lighting to some safe rural area. Usually the local astronomy club will have a rural site available for observing…
For more information on observing meteors visit the Sky & Telescope Web Pages at: http://www.skypub.com/sights/meteors/meteorwatch.html
A weekly preview of current meteor activity is also published each Thursday at: http://www.amsmeteors.org/lunsford/
Clear Skies!
Robert Lunsford
Secretary General of the International Meteor Organization
Visual Meteor Program Coordinator of the American Meteor Society
Meteors Section Coordinator of the Association of Lunar & Planetary Observers
http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/astropix.html
Dense fog in Chicago 
Same as last year.
My sister, SIL and I are heading up to Wisconsin to see the Leonids. I am really excited about it. Again, here’s hopin’ for some clear skies!!
Finally there is an advantage to living in the middle of nowhere, I can drive five minutes and be under nice dark skies with no obstructions…sometimes being a flatlander does pay off…now if only the weatherman cooperates…
Keith
We have been lucky to have 60 degree weather here lately (will end Tuesday) so we will try to go outside
My son would love to see one!
Me too.
ah, finally a benefit to living in a cave in the middle of nowhere…
My response? ROADTRIP! Find yourself a nice motel in the middle of upstate, and go “rough it”.
Me, I’ve already got babysitting lined-up, and my mother and I are headed to Fair Hill, MD for some mighty fine sky-watching.
If I had easy access to a car, I’d be out of here like … well you get the point. However, I don’t. And it’s probably not worth finding a train/bus + hotel by myself for one night in a random upstate NY location.
Unless any NY Dopers are crazy enough to plan an excursion with me 
If I had a car, I’d say “Hop in, we’re goin’ on a road trip!” But I’m sans vehicular transportation myself, and lurker can’t join us 'cause he’s got to work Sunday morning.
So, I’ll be trying to squint through the hazy glow and see what (if anything) I can see.
I just got out of an Ozomotli concert (a semi-religious experiance, as always…) and saw THREE on my way from the club to the car and from the car to my door. Amazing. Crystal clear night. And it’s only 2:30 EST. I’m considering bundling up and walking to the park alone, which makes me a little nervous. Ah, who am I kidding. I live in VERMONT.
I need to go get some meteor-watchin’ clothes on.
Set the alarm. Heavy fog and haze all over Northern Illinois
and southern Wisconsin. What a disappointment. Take good
pictures for me.
I have been out (came in to warm up, etc…) and I have been seeing quite a few shooting stars. These are not the wimpy shooting stars, these are the big boys…with trails! Now that I have semi-thawed, I’m heading out again. If you are not out already, go look! 2:22 Central time, lots of meteors.
Unbelievable.
All night there hasn’t been a cloud in site. Three O’Clock rolls around and bam! Tons of clouds move in out of knowwhere.
This bites.
South of Houston:
I’ve just come inside after spending 45 minutes watching, and I’ve already seen 15 - 10 of which were really good ones.
Gonna get the kids up shortly and go back out. What a wonderful thing!
I’m up, Bunny…
peak here should be about 3AM (9 hours or so from now), but I don’t think I’ll bother… I’m stuck in Seoul, and probably won’t be able to see much of anything from here.
Those of you with good skies for this, enjoy!
Just got back from spending about an hour watching. The kiddlies decided they wanted to get up early and come watch too, so they both snuggled down in their quilts and watched from the back of the car. 24 degrees outside. There’s a graveyard at the top of a hill a few blocks up and if you can get over the creepiness of being in a graveyard at 4:00 in the morning, you have a completely unobstructed view of the sky with only a few horizon lights. The sky was completely clear.
Forget about looking towards the east; these guys were all over the place! Big ones, small ones, sometimes coming down in twos and threes at a time. Some were big enough that the trails were still visible a few seconds after the meteor had burnt out. An incredible show!
I SAW IT!! I SAW IT!! I SAW IT!! Nothing but overcast all morning, then at about 4:05, went out for one last try and there was a 20 minute hole in the clouds. I saw at least 40, most of them good to spectacular, before the clouds repo’ed the stars. Not exactly a tale for the grandchildren, still it was an inspiring sight, and I’m glad I at least caught a peek.
I saw quite a few of them … even really big ones that left a trail. It’s a little cloudy around here (Phoenix, AZ) unfortunately, or it would have been better. I was out for a bit, then came in but ended up going back out for another 20mins 'cause I had to see more.
I kept saying, “One more good one, then I’ll go in.” It was incredible.
Hundreds. Hundreds and hundreds. I live on the outskirts of the Denver area. A three mile drive for me, and there’s no lights at all for hundreds of miles.
This was the second most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen in my life.