Mediterranean Leonid 2001
Credit & Copyright:
Tunc Tezel
A road trip from Ankara to
the Mediterranean
coast southeast of Antalya, Turkey
found clear skies and splendid scenery for
astrophotographer Tunc Tezel's viewing of the 2001 Leonid meteor
storm.
There he captured this dream-like image of a fireball meteor near
the horizon's twilight glow, reflected in calm ocean waters.
Lights from coastal dwellings and nearby islands are seen in the foreground
with brilliant Sirius
shining as the brightest star in the heavens,
visible in the constellation
Canis Major at the upper right.
Many enthusiasts
who made special trips
to view this November's
Leonids were rewarded with
similar spectacles of the fireball-rich storm.
Airborne astronomers
too had much to be thankful for as Leonid
observations from a specially equiped aircraft flying at 40,000
feet produced bountiful data on the chemical composition
of these dust grains
from a comet's tail.