Detail View: : A Leonid Bolide Over Kansas
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Collection:
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NASA Astronomy Picture of the Day Collection
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Title:
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A Leonid Bolide Over Kansas
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Explanation:
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The 1998 Leonid Meteor Shower [ http://astrobiology.arc.nasa.gov/leonid/ ] featured many bright events. Extremely bright meteors, known as bolides or fireballs [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap960226.html ], can briefly glow brighter than the full moon [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap950903.html ]. Pictured above [ http://www.icstars.com/HTML/Leo98/leo1.htm ] is a Leonid bolide [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap981123.html ] caught during a five-minute, wide-angle exposure. The bolide was so bright it lit up the surrounding area, making otherwise dark trees visible. Also visible are at least three other meteors, numerous bright stars, and the constellation Orion [ http://www.astro.wisc.edu/~dolan/constellations/constellations/Orion.html ]. This meteor shower is called the Leonids [ http://www-space.arc.nasa.gov/~leonid/1998.html ] because most of the meteors move out from the constellation Leo [ http://www.astro.wisc.edu/~dolan/constellations/constellations/Leo.html ]. At this location near the Powell Observatory [ http://server2.greatlakes.k12.mi.us/explorer/desc/783750828-447DED81.html ] in Kansas, over 200 meteors [ http://www.seds.org/nineplanets/nineplanets/meteorites.html ] per hour were reported.
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Credit and Copyright:
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V. Winter & J. Dudley, ICSTARS [ http://www.icstars.com/ ] Astronomy
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keyword:
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meteor
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keyword:
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Leonids
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facet_where:
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Kansas
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facet_where:
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Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC)
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facet_what:
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Orion
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facet_what:
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Moon
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facet_what:
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Explorer
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facet_what:
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Leo
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original url:
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http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap981125.html
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UID:
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SPD-APOD-ap981125
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Image ID:
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108225
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Resolution Size:
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3
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Format:
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JPEG
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Media Type:
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Image
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File Name:
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leonidbolide_vw.jpg
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Width:
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300
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Height:
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497
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