'Clouds will spoil meteor's light show'

Weather experts say rains may make it difficult for Puneites to witness the Leonids meteor shower

Sky gazers in the city have been eagerly waiting for tomorrow, when they can watch the phenomenon of the Leonid meteor shower. However, weather experts state that this may just not be possible. According to them, the cloudy weather the city has been seeing for the past few days will very likely continue, making it almost impossible to witness the astronomical event.

Medha Khole, director, India Meteorological Department, said, "The weather will be cloudy and expect rains for the next two days due to low pressure in certain areas."

Still hopeful
But city astronomers remain undaunted. Amit Purandare, co-ordinator of the Astro Club said, "We are expecting to see some 400 plus meteors per hour. It should be a spectacular sight and we are hoping the skies stay clear."

Arvind Deshpande, of Jyotirvidya Prarisanstha said, "We plan to watch the sight from Tamini Hat, which is 70km from Pune so that we can clearly see the meteors. From Pune, we can see only around 30 meteors."
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Mayuresh Prabhure, of the Khagol Vishwa Group, an amateur group of sky watchers, said, "We will go to Rajgurunagar near Khed and then move to Kadus to watch the sight. If it rains, we'll have discussions and will have radio observation."

Added Piyush Garud (21) a science graduate and an avid sky gazer, "We are keeping our fingers crossed that it won't rain and we will get to see the meteor shower clearly."

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