Hello, Halley's

Tonight is the peak of what I guess could be called the Hallids meteor shower. We're currently passing through the tail of Halley's comet, and already meteors are pouring in. In addition to the 90-second one I just mentioned below, a huge one is coming in about every two minutes, and small and medium ones are pouring in at between 5 and 15 a minute, and already that qualifies as a strong meteor shower, if not almost a storm.
 It's supposed to peak after midnight tonight, and if it's clear where you are, it may be worth your while to look up for a minute or two no matter what time it is, but especially after midnight. Last Summer Sally and I saw a meteor, or possibly a piece of space junk, that lasted over 15 seconds, and that's a conservative estimate. That's the craziest thing I've ever seen in the sky. To see a 90-second one would almost have to completely change your perspective on things. Just now one came in that lasted 18 seconds. If it weren't cloudy right now I'd be parked in a chair and looking up at the sky. You'd easily be able to see some of the ones coming in even in broad daylight. You don't see that every day either. As if to illustrate my point this one just now happened.

You could've easily seen this one, and maybe even through clouds. Speaking of clouds I hope they clear away here, but it looks like this weather system has basically parked itself. I did see another shooting star after the one I saw during the Lyrids. It happened night before last and it lasted about one second. It was probably part of Halley's tail. Every time the comet passes it leaves a separate tail, not unlike drawing with a Spirograph. Each tail can apparently be traced back to a particular year, and if I'm not mistaken the tail we're passing through now is from an 1800s flyby, but don't quote me on that.

Speaking of the 1800s, this is one of many amazing woodcuts depicting the Leonid meteor shower of 1833. Can you imagine seeing something like this? Lots of astronomers say that Earth is currently passing through a debris trail, although it apparently is ongoing and isn't linked to any particular comet or anything. I assume it's debris we're encountering as we fly through space. Some of these people are saying that we may see something like this again.
 The amount of meteors in a given shower will vary from year to year and it's almost impossible to predict. The amount depends on whether we pass through a thicker or thinner section of the tail; at what angle we enter the tail and which side of the planet faces the tail. I wouldn't be surprised if we do see something like this before it's all said and done. I saw Halley's comet when it was last here in 1986, but I almost certainly won't be around to see its next pass. In that case I guess it's nice to hear from it now and then. Meanwhile the meteors are pouring in as we speak. Heads up.