SOUTH KOREA/THAILAND: Asia gazes at Leonid meteor shower

Record ID: 217183

  • Title: SOUTH KOREA/THAILAND: Asia gazes at Leonid meteor shower
  • Date: 19th November 2009
  • Summary: VARIOUS OF PEOPLE SETTING UP TENTS MAN STANDING NEXT TO TELESCOPE AT DUSK
  • Embargoed: 4th December 2009 12:00
  • Keywords:
  • Topics: Space
  • Reuters ID: LVA7EF0LIF0KDS1KNKBJ7J83FQTD
  • Story Text: Thousands of stargazers gather to watch the Leonid meteor shower in South Korea and Thailand.
    Stargazers from South Korea and Thailand gathered in the darkness to watch the Leonid meteor storm pass over Asia in the pre-dawn hours of Wednesday (November 18).
    South Koreans trekked to a museum south of Seoul early in the morning, braving cold weather and shaking off their sleepiness to wait for the astronomical phenomenon.
    About 500 people who gathered at the Gwachon National Science Museum enjoyed watching the falling meteors for two hours, with the temperature dropping to lower than 4 degrees celsius..
    "When the earth passes into debris of Comet 55 / P Tempel-Tuttle we can see many meteors. We can see many meteors every 33 years, including this year," said Lee Jeong-koo, natural history team leader at the Gwachon National Science Museum.
    As astronomers predicted, 200 to 300 meteors fell between 4:00 and 6:00 a.m. on Wednesday morning (1900 - 2100 gmt), but only a small number of meteors were visible to the human eye, the museum said.
    "I had to be here at four o'clock and saw 25 meteors. It's interesting and mysterious," said eight-year-old elementary school student Cho Seong-bin.
    A meteor shower occurs when streams of a comet's debris interacts with a planet such as the earth.
    In Thailand, curious watchers drove to the countryside away from the glare of city lights to witness the celestial storm, which was supposed to bring streaks of light emblazoning the sky every two to three seconds.
    Eager sky-watchers of all ages gathered in an open field before sunset in Lopburi province, 200 kilometres north of Bangkok, setting up telescopes and pitching tents hours before.
    "So far, I've been able to see 74 stars. I am so happy to witness the meteor shower because it is a phenomenon of nature," student Baifern Wichitkul said, adding that she started counting the stars from midnight to 4:00 a.m (1700 - 2100 gmt).
    Samaporn Tiyanont brought a gadget that counts meteors, and connected cameras to his laptop to have a clearer view of the meteor shower.
    He was a tad disappointed, he said, and said the 2001 meteor shower was much more exciting.
    "I'm so impressed because it's beautiful, but it's not as beautiful as in 2001. That time, you could see about thousands of stars moving in one hour," the 18-year-old Samaporn said.
    The meteor shower could not be viewed in most of Thailand due to cloudy skies.
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