Chinese astronomers failed to observe the Leonid Meteor Storm which occurred at 10:00 a.m., Beijing Time (2:00 a.m. GMT), said a scientist from the Beijing Astronomical Observatory (BAO) of the Chinese Academy of Sciences today.

"I only saw a few dozen meteors during the observation from 1: 00 to 5:00 a.m.today at the BAO's Xinglong Station in north China' s Hebei Province," said Dr. Zhu Jin, a research professor with the BAO.

"Though the number of meteors increased at around five o'clock early this morning, I still saw fewer meteors than during the shower last year," Zhu concluded.

Scientists at the station are well prepared for meteor observation, with two CCD (Charged Couple Device) cameras, which successfully took a dozen pictures of the meteors.

They have also tried hard to record the meteor shower process by using a special video camera.

Scientists at an astronomical station in suburban Urumqi in western China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region reported observing more than 300 meteors an hour from 6:00 to 8:00 o'clock in the morning.

A European research group observed the Leonid Meteor Storm at 2: 00 a.m. Greenwich Mean Time (10:00 a.m. Beijing Time), with about 1,800 shooting stars an hour.

Leonid meteors form in the dust debris of the Tempel-Tuttle comet's tail which orbits the sun every 33 years. The Earth crosses the tail every November, and meteor showers occur when the debris is particularly dense. (Xinhua)