What's wrong with this picture? - Possible Darwin Candidates Maybe?????

[KnacK]

"On Thursday, SETI Institute and NASA scientists will take their research instruments and their coffee for a 10 hour continuous flight to map what they say will be the earth's most brilliant meteor shower of 2008. Scientists believe the Quadrantid meteor shower could flash over 100 visible meteors per hour at its peak, depending on location. A Gulfstream V aircraft will take off from San Jose, Calif., and fly 14 scientists and their instruments for 10 continuous hours at 47,000ft., over the Arctic and back to San Jose. The primary goal of the lengthy airborne mission is to observe the Quadrantid meteor shower in ideal and virtually unchanging conditions far above light pollution and clouds to determine when the meteor shower peaks and how the flow of meteors are dispersed."


So.......
Flying a plane at 47000 feet in the middle of meteor shower.....

[S8NSSON]

lol...sounds Darwinish, eh?

Actually the dust trail left by asteroid 2003 EH1 (suspected extinct comet actually) that causes this particular shower is just that, dust.
These dust particles will slam in to our atmosphere at around 90,000 mph causing the "shower" we all see.

There is no alarm in being at 47,000 ft. when the peak occurs. At 90,000 mph 47,000 ft closer means little.

[KnacK]

I know that there is really no danger, but the initial read " meteor shower+plane " made me lol.

[jitspoe]

I'd be more concerned about a meteor shower + space shuttle.