Meteor Shower Could Light Up the Sky

If the partly cloudy skies subside, Montgomery County residents could get a glimpse of a rare meteor shower in the early morning hours of May 24.

“Scientists aren’t sure yet how many shooting stars people may see, but the May Camelopardalids meteor shower could be at a dazzling one-per-minute rate,” NASA released in a press release.

This is the first time Earth will directly cross the dusty trails left behind by a recently discovered comet named Comet 209P/LINEAR.

Discovered in 2004, this comet’s path has been slowly altered by Jupiter’s gravity over the last 200 years and the leftover dust will now cross Earth’s path.

“That’s good news for those in North America who will have a front-row seat to see Mother Nature’s celestial display of fireworks. The meteors will appear from the northern constellation Camelopardalis,” according to the release.

On the night of May 23 into the early morning hours of May 24, NASA meteor expert Bill Cooke of NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center will host a live web chat from 11 p.m. to 3 a.m. EDT. To access the chat, log in and ask questions, visit the NASA website here.

About Valerie Bonk

Valerie Bonk is a multimedia reporter and community engagement specialist with Montgomery Community Media (MCM).

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