North America and Europe will be on the side of the world facing away from the meteors and will miss out. However, if the prediction is as much as 12 hours off one way or the other, any region of the world could be favored. The strongest part of the shower is expected to last no more than an hour or so. Furthermore, the shower could still put on a good show on the mornings before and after the peak. McNaught will attempt to image the glow with a large Schmidt camera, as will a team of Japanese astronomers.
Some professional astronomers have more elaborate plans.
The planes will carry various equipment including high-definition TV cameras. Controllers of many satellites in Earth orbit will be taking extra precautions against the cosmic debris. The Space Telescope Science Institute announced Tuesday that Hubble will be taking pictures of a distant quasar that's in just the right part of the sky. NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center reports that many other spacecraft will be reoriented to minimize the chances of damage. Some will have their power reduced or shut off.