For details about our equipment and method of data analysis, see our main page. The 2003 Leonid meteor shower was very diffuse, and high count rates were observed over several days. The peak rate we observed was 25 meteors per hour.

Rates for 2003 Leonids

The following graph shows the meteor count rates per hour we measured for the 2003 Leonids. These rates were determined by a computer program that counted all peaks that climbed at least 20% above the background level in one second. The graph shows the rates observed from Noon EST 11/09/03 through Noon 11/23/03.

Summary

The peak rate we observed for the 2003 Leonid meteor shower was 25 meteors per hour. The shower was very diffuse, and high count rates were observed over an extended period with the expected diurnal modulation. The expected maximum for our location was predicted to occur at 2:30 AM on November 19. This matches one of our peaks, but there were similar peaks at 4:00 AM on November 18, and 3:00 AM on November 17. Count rates as high as 65 meteors per hour were predicted by some, but this didn't seem to be the case. There was a Pre-Leonid shower expected on November 13, near 17:00 GMT. This corresponds to Noon our time, and there does appear to be some enhanced activity at that time, but we were on the wrong side of the earth to see much of an effect.

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Comments and technical questions can be addressed to Dev Gualtieri, Devlin Gualtieri, at Honeywell Laboratory, Morristown, NJ.