Earlier this month, I wrote about a possible new meteor storm display. Comet 209P/LINEAR left behind some tail fragments during an earlier orbit around the Sun. Earth will pass through this debris late this evening (May 23, 2014), early tomorrow morning (May 24, 2014). When the debris field meets Earth’s atmosphere, there may be a spectacular meteor display over North America.
My original post had the event occurring on the evening of May 24. The actual time is the early morning of May 24. Peak observing times are predicted to be between 6:00 AM to 8:00 AM Greenwich Mean Time. This translates to:
2:00 AM to 4:00 AM Eastern Daylight Time
1:00 AM to 3:00 AM Central Daylight Time
Midnight to 2:00 AM Pacific Daylight Time.
These times are for the expected peak times. Because this shower has never occurred before, surprises may happen. If weather is a problem near you, The folks at NASA will broadcast a live feed from Huntsville, Alabama and a stream Q&A show with astronomer Bill Cooke from 11:00 PM to 3:00 AM Eastern. The Virtual Telescope Project will also be hosting a live webcast of the event starting a half hour before peak times.
Enjoy your meteor storm viewing!