Fireball at Ayers Rock
Credit & Copyright:
Joseph Brimacombe
A weekend trip for astrophotography in central
Australia can
result in gorgeous skyscapes.
In this example recorded in March of 2006,
the center of our
Milky Way Galaxy rises over planet Earth's
horizon and the large sandstone formation called Uluru,
also known as Ayers Rock.
After setting up two cameras to automatically image this
celestial scene in a series of exposures,
one through a wide-angle and the other through a telephoto lens,
photographer Joseph Brimacombe briefly turned his back
to set up other equipment.
To his surprise, the ground around him suddenly lit up with
the brilliant flash of a
fireball meteor.
To his delight, both cameras captured the
bright meteor
streak.
Highlighted in the telephoto view (inset), the fireball trail
shines through cloud banks, just left of
Ayers Rock.