1887: "Two Down, One to Go"

[Envelope Generator]

The third row will probably have to wait until 2034, and maybe longer. If I see a daytime supernova, I'll replace the meteor storm with that and consider it 3/3.

I was going to wonder about Randall having never seen, say, the Perseids, but in today's TIL not all meteor showers are meteor storms.

I'm far enough north that I score 1/3 for most years.... but in such a light-polluted area that I'd replace the eclipse with just "Milky Way with naked eyes".

[rhomboidal]

I'd probably die if I saw all three at the same time. Though, according to prophecy, the world might, too...

[peregrine_crow]

I'd probably die if I saw all three at the same time. Though, according to prophecy, the world might, too...

I don't think you can get an aurora and a total solar eclipse at the same time.

[cryptoengineer]

I'm not sure which TIL is referenced above, but I did once see a truly memorable shower/storm.

It was fall of 1999 or 2000 - possibly Leonids (it was cold, but above freezing in MA). There were probably 30-50 per MINUTE visible,
enough that you couldn't really mentally process one before another came. It was spectacular, and I got my wife and 10 year old
out of bed to watch (not the 5 year old, who has never forgiven me).

I've done an eclipse now (I was one of the last to see it, on a cruise liner in the Atlantic).

I haven't yet seen an aurora, though my wife and I are considering a trip to Iceland this winter to remedy that.

[pogrmman]

I'm still just at 1/3. I tried seeing the aurora last night (during the geomagnetic storm), but was screwed over by clouds to the north and by the moon.

At least my college is far enough north that I have a shot of seeing it during a storm. At home, it'd probably need to be a historic event for me to see it.

I'd also love to see a meteor storm -- I think the highest rate I've ever seen is about 60/hr, maybe a little higher.

[charliekilian]

What is possibly happening in 2034 that makes a meteor storm more likely?

[deater78]

Saw the aurora last night too (from Maine), just could barely make it out with the naked eye but it looked really cool with a camera.

I have to second the 1999-ish Leonid meteor shower thing, a friend and I were out, the night before it was supposed to peak, inside the DC Beltway... and it was still one of the most amazing things I've ever seen. Just giant streaks of multicolored light across the sky. Even heard the weird instantaneous sizzling sound effects that aren't supposed to be possible. Convinced everyone that they needed to go out and check it out the next day (the supposed actual predicted peak) and there was nothing at all.

[cellocgw]

What is possibly happening in 2034 that makes a meteor storm more likely?

The best I can come up with is that's the Rule 34 version of the Unix Epoch. Either that or http://www.2034ad.com/

[cellocgw]

Is Randall hoping for a major meteor shower, or the full-on hard rain?

[deater78]

Is Randall hoping for a major meteor shower, or the full-on hard rain?

Well then surely his list should be a little less "aurora" and more "Carrington Event".

[heuristically_alone]

I've lived in the city Aurora before. Does that count?

[ObsessoMom]

What is possibly happening in 2034 that makes a meteor storm more likely?

From Space.com:

The Leonid meteor shower is an extremely variable shower. A dense swarm of particles consisting of material that is shed by the Comet Tempel-Tuttle returns about every 33 years (the comet’s orbital period), and if it crosses the Earth’s orbit during November, an intense meteor storm is seen. The Leonids produced spectacular displays — exceeding 1,000 meteors per minute —in 1799, 1833, 1866 and 1966 (when observers were left awestruck by the appearance of more than 2,000 per minute). The great swarm that produces these spectacular displays passed through aphelion – its farthest point from the sun, near the orbit of Uranus – last year, and the Leonids have been correspondingly weak in recent years. [...] The last really bright and spectacular Leonid shower occurred in 2001, when Leonids could be seen at rates of up to 40 per minute. Adding 33 years to 2001, the 2034 Leonids are, naturally, eagerly awaited.

I'm not sure why adding 33 to 1966 gets 2001, but I'll leave that to the mathematicians. [Edited to add: Ah, I see, one adds about 33.]

I remember reading something about the Comet Tempel-Tuttle being expected to have its path altered by passing close to Jupiter, which might mess up that 33-year cycle in the future, but there's nothing about that in the comet's Wikipedia article.

[qvxb]

Meteor Storm. An astronomical event, not the 1950s stripper.

[dash]

How about seeing the Southern Cross? Gotta go below the equator to see that...

[Himself]

Well, here's to 2024 for the eclipse.

[Yablo]

I can relate to the alt text. I started a bucket list about 20 years ago, but I hate the idea of dying without completing it, so I only add things when I'm ready to cross them off. So far, there are only a few that were particularly unexpected:

• See an 8' tall clown with a briefcase crossing the street with a group of lawyers.
• Listen to the "Macarena" on five different radio stations at the same time.
• Intimidate a bear.
• See a vehicle with Canadian plates and a "Don't Mess With Texas" bumper sticker driven by an elderly couple.
• Lose a friend by renaming her cât by getting everyone she knows to only call it Kenny Loggins.

[DavidSh]

How about seeing the Southern Cross? Gotta go below the equator to see that...

No, you don't have to go that far south. Even the southernmost stars in the Southern Cross are less than 65 degrees south latitude, so, with a good southern horizon, you should be able to see it from 25 degrees north latitude. For example, it can be seen from Honolulu at the right times of the year.

[dd1]

I'm three for three.

Total Eclipse - seen four, plus an annular eclipse. First in 1979, most recently viewed from Salem, OR.

Aurora - many times, have some spectacular pictures.

Meteor Storm - yep, saw the Leonid meteor storm in 2001.

[heuristically_alone]

That is an amazing post after a 7 year hiatus.

[Sly]

No one saw the Fireball over the west coast of Canada?
It's no meteor shower, but it could have come close, I'd think.

[jonhaug]

Ah!
Visit Norway anyone, the northern part. It is impossible to not see the aurora at least a dusin times during the winter as my, ...uh, avatar? shows.

/Jon