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Grab a blankie and settle in—you might see a meteor shower late tonight to rival the Perseids of August. Or not. The Camelopardalids (from the messed-up Latin word for "giraffe," directly translated as "leopard-colored camel") are an unknown quantity. Earth has never before passed through the debris trail of Comet 209P/Linear. Well, not since anyone was paying attention. Specifically, we'll be passing through an old debris trail from 209P/Linear—one laid down in the 1800s. And we have no idea if 209P/Linear was active just then.
So. It could be amazing—shooting stars all over the place, up to 400 of them per hour—or it could be just another night in paradise. Either way, to find out, your best bet here on the California coast is to find someplace dark and go outside between 11pm on Friday night and 1am Saturday morning. Face north, find the Big Dipper, and look to the right about the length of the Big Dipper itself. We've checked Weather Underground and skies are supposed to be clear after 9pm on Friday.
Read more about this phenomenon on Slate.com or National Geographic.com.
Photo of Perseids on Wikimedia Commons.
