Camelopardalid Meteor Shower to Appear This Weekend

The never-before-seen shower could rival Perseids.

'image: NASA'

Published May 21, 2014 05:35PM

Sky watchers are in for a treat this weekend when a new meteor shower comes to town.

Late on Friday, May 23, dust from periodic comet 209P/LINEAR is expected to pass close enough to Earth to create a never-before-seen meteor spectacle, according to NASA forecasts. The shower, dubbed Camelopardalid, will be visible in the Northern Hemisphere in the early morning hours of Saturday, May 24, with the bulk of the action occurring between 2 a.m. and 4 a.m. Eastern time.

NASA officials say that Camelopardalid could potentially yield over 200 meteors per hour, creating a display that would rival the well-known Perseids meteor shower, which occurs in August. Given that this is a brand new event, however, there is a higher amount of uncertainty in that prediction.

Meteor showers are best enjoyed in the backcountry, but if you can’t make it out or have cloudy skies in your area that night, you’ll be able to watch a live stream here. The countdown begins!