Leonid Meteor Shower 2001 Radiant in Leo
Copyright 2001 Hap Griffin
Every year in mid-November the Earth passes through the debris trail left by Comet Tempel-Tuttle in its journey around the Sun. The result is a great increase in the number of meteors visible per hour as the small rock and ice fragments burn up upon contact with our atmosphere. This event is called a "meteor shower", or a "meteor storm" if the number exceeds 1000 per hour. This year (2001) in the early morning hours of November 18th the Leonid meteor shower reached "storm" proportions, at least here in South Carolina!
This photo shows
why this particular event is named after the constellation Leo. The
"radiant", or point of apparent origin of the meteors as they enter
our atmosphere is directly in the "shoulder" of Leo, the Lion.
The red arrows indicate three meteors that are obviously emanating from this
area.
The Beehive star cluster, M44, can be seen at the right.
Date/Location:
November 18, 2001 Griffin/Hunter
Observatory Bethune, SC
Instrument: Nikon FM w/ 28mm lens mounted piggyback on Meade 10" LX-200
Focal Ratio: f4
Guiding: None
Conditions: Visually clear
Weather: 40 F, calm
Film: Fuji Super G 800
Exposure: 1 x 20 minutes
Filters: None
Processing: Finished in Photoshop 5