Meteor Shower Could Bring 200 Meteors Per Hour, Michigan Among Best Places To View
The Camelopardalids meteor shower was discovered in 2004.
Saturday morning brings the first opportunity to see the Camelopardalids and Michigan is expected to be among the best areas in the world to see the display.
Southern Canada and the continental United States are expected to have the best views due to the time of the meteor shower. So far, the weather appears to be ready to cooperate too.
The peak viewing hours are expected to be from 2:00am - 4:00am on Saturday, May 24, in the northern sky.
Earthsky.org has more on the origin of the meteor shower:
An exciting new meteor shower – the Camelopardalids – might peak this Friday night and Saturday morning (May 23-24, 2014), according to clocks in North America. This possible shower stems from Comet 209P/LINEAR, discovered in 2004.
The meteors will radiate from the constellation Camelopardalis (camelopard), a very obscure northern constellation. Its name is derived from early Rome, where it was thought of as a composite creature, described as having characteristics of both a camel and a leopard. Nowadays we call such a creature a giraffe!
The exact intensity of the meteor shower will remain unknown until early Saturday morning. Over 200 meteors an hour is possible, but it's also possible the meteor shower will disappoint. An early or late arrival is also possible.
If you miss it this year, there will be another opportunity to enjoy the show. The Camelopardalis meteor shower is expected to become an annual event.
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