NASA Astronomy Picture of the Day Collection

Leonid Sunrise

Such beautiful things begin as grains of sand. Locked in an oyster a granule grows into an iridescent [ http://antwrp.gsfc.…] pearl, lustrous and lovely to behold. While hurtling [ http://antwrp.gsfc.…] through the atmosphere at 70 kilometers per second, a cosmic sand grain becomes an awe-inspiring [ http://antwrp.gsfc.…] meteor, its transient beauty displayed for any who care [ http://www.darksky.…] to watch. Framed perfectly between orange clouds at sunrise, this bright meteor trail was photographed from the Joshua Tree National Park [ http://www.nps.gov/…] in California, USA during the 1998 Leonid Meteor Shower [ http://leonid.arc.n…]. Appropriately titled "Leonid Sunrise", the picture was recorded on high-speed film (ASA 3200) with a 35mm camera. Its striking colors and grainy, textured appearance suggest a painting [ http://www.ibiblio.…gray-weather/ ] on canvas. Of course, you could see Leonid meteors at sunrise for yourself [ http://leonid.arc.n…]. With clear skies, your next chance is coming up [ http://leonids.com/] ... tomorrow morning [ http://spacescience…ast10oct_1.htm ].

Wally Pacholka [ mailto:wally@astropi cs.com ]

meteor

leonid meteor shower

California

Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC)

http://antwrp.gsfc.…

SPD-APOD-ap001117