"Orion /
Leonid Bolide Dust Detail"
South Park, Colorado
November 18, 2001
Fujicolor Professional Press P- 800
ISO 800 color negative film -- pushed 1 stop
Pentax Spotmatic camera with 28 mm lens at f/3.5 / 2 minute
exposure
A bright bolide fireball streaked through Orion sometime
after the Zenith Hourly Rate (ZHR) reached a maximum of
almost 3000, and lasted from 03:10 A.M. MST to 03:30 A.M.
MST on November 18, 2001. The meteor left a dust cloud
that lasted at least 4 minutes. This detailed photograph
shows the dust cloud up to 2 minutes after the bolide
exploded below Orion in the southwestern sky just before
dawn. Another bright green Leonid can also be seen in
this photograph. The round object in the direct foreground
is the telescope tube (the camera was riding piggyback
and being driven by the telescope's clock drive to compensate
for the Earth's rotation).
The Leonid meteor shower astrophotography
is available via telephone ordering as noted below.