Here Come the Leonids 2006

yukk writes "The nights and early morning hours of November 17-19 mark the return of the Leonid meteor shower to the skies of Earth. Viewers along the northeastern coast of the United States and Canada, as well as people in Europe and western Africa might get to see a possible 'outburst' of as many as 100-600 meteors per hour. This spike in activity is predicted for 11:45 p.m. — 1:33 a.m. EST on November 18-19 (4:45 — 6:33 UT on November 19)."

probability of hitting land

[crankshot999]

for every five meteors that hit the planet 75x.75x.75x.75x.75 or 3 to the 5th over 4 to the 5th will even hit land!

Hearing the meteors (no, by radio...)

[w9wi]

I might mention that the meteor trails you see also refract radio signals. [wikipedia.org]

How to listen:

1. Use the best FM radio you have. In most cases, this is your car radio. AM/MW doesn't work.
2. Find the most open frequency possible. It's best if you can find a frequency where you hear only noise, but meteor-reflected signals can override weak stations, so don't give up if you can't find a completely open spot. In the U.S., be careful that you don't use an "open" frequency that's right next to a strong local station. It might not actually be open. [hdradio.com]
3. Listen!.

You'll hear a lot of static, but every once in awhile, you'll hear a brief burst of signal. This is (probably) a distant station's signal bouncing off the ionized trail left by a meteor. Short bursts can be just a "ping"; long ones have lasted as long as a minute! (1-5 seconds is most common) Stations can be between 500 and 2000km distant. If you're really lucky you might even hear some identifying information, like a local commercial.

This also works with analog TV, primarily on Band I (in the Americas: "low-band VHF" channels 2-6). It's unlikely a burst will be long or stable enough to allow digital reception. And, of course, you have to have an antenna on your TV - the only way the meteor shower is going to affect your cable or satellite reception is if a meteor hits the satellite!

More useful links:
http://www.qsl.net/dk3xt/ms.htm [qsl.net]
http://www.imo.net/radio [imo.net]
http://www.veron.nl/amrad/mslinks.htm [veron.nl]