|
Credit & Copyright: Courtesy
P. Spurny,
(Astronomical Institute, Ondrejov Observatory)
Explanation:
This exceptionally bright
fireball meteor
trail was photographed with
a fish-eye camera at a Czech Republic station of
the European Fireball Network
on January 21, 1999.
Of the star trails
visible in this night-long exposure,
the bright short arc in the upper left is due to
Polaris, the north star.
The breaks seen near the beginning of the fireball trail itself
were produced by a shutter rotating 15 times a second.
In all, three stations recorded the dazzling streak
and their combined tracking information has revealed details
of the meteor's
brief atmospheric flight and previous interplanetary voyage.
For example,
the luminous trail is measured to begin at an altitude of 81.9 kilometers
and covered 71.1 kilometers in 6.7 seconds.
The projected
prior orbit for the meteoroid corresponds to one
typical for Apollo
class asteroids which can cross Earth's orbit.
In forty years of operations the European Network has multistation
recordings of less than
10 or so fireballs as bright as this one.
It is thought likely that a small (a few hundred grams)
meteorite
survived this fiery fall to Earth and landed near the Czech-Poland border.
|
January February March April May June July August September October November December |
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
NASA Web Site Statements, Warnings, and Disclaimers
NASA Official: Jay Norris. Specific rights apply.
A service of: LHEA at NASA / GSFC
& Michigan Tech. U.
Based on Astronomy Picture
Of the Day
Publications with keywords: fireball - meteor - star trail
Publications with words: fireball - meteor - star trail
See also: