Disappointed Leonid meteor shower in Asia

Thousands of stargazers stayed awake overnight for what was forecast as an intense Leonid meteor shower over Asia this year, but the show fizzled rather than sizzled for many viewers – partly due to cloud cover.

One group of about 30 amateur astronomers had some luck during their vigil at the Siriska wildlife sanctuary, nearly 150km south of New Delhi – counting 78 Leonids during a four-hour period.

“There was no moon in the sky, which is good for observation,” said Yogeshwar Kanu Aggarwal, a member of the Space Science Popularization Association of Communications and Educators. “We could see flashes of light for almost 10 seconds as bright as star Sirius.”

All across Asia, viewers stayed up until the early hours of Wednesday to catch a glimpse of the Leonids, which are bits of debris from the Comet Tempel-Tuttle. Appearing like flashes of light in the sky, NASA scientists had projected there would be up to 300 raining down every hour compared to a typical night when there about eight an hour.

A cloudy sky disappointed thousands of skygazers in Agra, home of the Taj Mahal. Pawan Sharma, a 36-year-old photographer, could only spot two shooting stars, one of them big enough to be seen streaking across the sky in a window between the clouds.

In Nepal, cloud and fog cover over much of the Himalayan nation blocked views of the meteor shower.

Jayanta Acharya, astronomy professor at Katmandu’s Tribhuwan University, said he woke up early to view the meteor shower from the rooftop of his house in Katmandu.