Leonids Above Torre de la Guaita
Credit & Copyright:
Juan Carlos Casado
Last year, the 1999 Leonids Meteor Shower came to a tremendous crescendo.
Observers in Europe observed a
sharp peak in the number of
meteors visible
around 0210
UTC during the early morning hours of November 18.
Meteor counts then exceeded 1000 per hour -
the minimum needed to define a true
meteor storm.
At other times and from other locations around the world,
observers typically reported
respectable rates of between 30 and 100 meteors per hour.
This year, the
2000 Leonids were somewhat less impressive,
although many astronomers hold much
hope for the
Leonids in 2001 and 2002.
The
above photograph
is a 20-minute exposure ending just before the main
Leonids
peak of 1999 began.
Visible are at least five
Leonids
meteors streaking high above the
Torre de la Guaita, an observation tower used during the
12th century in Gorina,
Spain.