Just wanted to start this ' Astronomy-related ' topic with pointing out the LEONID meteorite shower of next weekend of 18-19 Nov 2006.
A brief surge of activity is expected begin around 11:45 p.m. ET Saturday, Nov. 18. In Europe, that corresponds to early Sunday morning, Nov. 19 at 4:45 GMT. The outburst could last up to two hours.
This means up to 2 meteorites per minute on average
Clear Skies to Eastern US and Western Europe I hope
...

Me too, living in the UK! But we're talking meteors, not meteorites... two meteorites per minute would be like a scene from Armageddon!

Yes, Meteor showers ... but as last month in Bochum - Germany, these could hit the ground and become meteorites

I think that was just a stray, background could-have-landed-at-anytime meteoroid that came down. Leonid meteors are typically lentil- or coffee-grain sized particles of space dust, so none of them should actually reach the ground, as much as I'd love that, being a meteorite collector myself I'll be watching any "outburst" from within the ruins of Kendal Castle. Looking forward to it! We even have a half-decent weather forecast for Sat night...

Hopefully some dark skies here...... my new shiny DSLR needs a work out

Doug

You bought a dslr? Which one and how is it performing?

Nico

400D - and it's fab..... My Powershot S2IS died at a time when, as you know, I want to take quite a few photos - so I just thought "sod it" and splashed out on something that will last and will let me invest in some good lenses etc.

Doug