Seven Leonids Over Wise Observatory
Credit: O. Gabzo
(Wise Observatory)
More
Leonids
were visible at some places than others.
In Israel, early in the morning of 17 November,
it rained meteors though a clear sky.
Observers there reported a peak rate for the 1998 Leonid Meteor Shower
of about 600 meteors per hour.
Visible in the
above picture are no fewer than seven
Leonid meteors
occurring over just a few minutes.
(Can you find them all?)
The dome of the
Wise Observatory is visible on the right.
The Earth's rotation causes stars to
appear as arcs.
The
1998 Leonids might be remembered not for their numbers,
however, but for the unusually high fraction of
bright fireballs.
Another eventful
Leonid Meteor Shower is
forecast for the same time next year.