APOD
Astronomy Picture of the Day
Discover the cosmos! Each day a different image or photograph of our fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation written by a professional astronomer.
Seven Leonids Over Wise Observatory
Explanation: 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.
| Date | November 24, 1998 |
|---|---|
| Credit | Credit: O. Gabzo (Wise Observatory) |
| Authors & editors: | Robert Nemiroff (MTU) & Jerry Bonnell (UMCP) |
| A service of: |
ASD at NASA / GSFC, NASA Science Activation & Michigan Tech. U. |


