The Wabe → The Roadtrip → The Roadtrip Reports → Year 6 → Roadtrip Report: 17 November 2001
Supposedly, this year was the year to see the Leonids: it was going to be a moonless night, and the earth was going to slice directly through one of the densest debris fields deposited by Tempel-Tuttle in 1767. (2002 would also be spectacular, if it were not for the full moon.)
Rob took his camera, but wasn't hopeful: past attempts to photograph stars were unsuccessful. This trip would be practically undocumented: the audio equipment was not working at the time.
The only photograph that even looked like it had a meteor on it required so much Photoshop work that Rob isn't sure if he actually photographed a meteor or has a lens scratch.
Since the death of the Smogmobile, the choice of cars has been limited. Jason's new car was rejected almost immediately.
After all the preparations, the journey looked like it would end before it even began: a freak fog rolled in, obscuring everything. Like the survivors in Stephen King's Mist, we journeyed inland, hoping to escape the smothering cloud.
Somewhere around Pasadena we broke free, but now the city lights were our enemies. After forty minutes of driving, we stopped somewhere just outside Riverside. Even before we stopped, we could see the meteors streaking across the sky.
The shower was spectacular: if you saw it, you understand what I mean; if you missed it, you missed a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. A shower of this magnitude is not expected until the end of the twenty-first century.
More information on the Leonids is available from the American Meteor Society. Plus they have more realistic photos.
Last Modified: 2003/12/08 07:27:35 GMT
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