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Credit & Copyright: Arne Danielsen
Explanation:
Most Leonid
meteoroids, the bits of
comet debris which produce
the annual Leonid meteor shower, range from a mere millimeter to
a centimeter in diameter.
Yet these cosmic grains of sand and gravel can put on quite
a spectacular show.
How can something so small generate so much light?
The answer is their astronomical speed, as these particles enter
Earth's atmosphere at around 71 kilometers per second.
In the high-speed collisions with air
molecules,
electrons are stripped from atoms as meteroid material is blasted away.
When the electrons recombine with the atoms, light is emitted.
This dramatic example of a brilliant 1999 Leonid meteor was
photographed while tracking the stars in partly foggy
skies on November 18, from a location near Dagali, Norway.
The two bright reddish-orange stars visible are the familiar giant stars
Betelgeuse (left) and
Aldebaran.
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NASA Web Site Statements, Warnings, and Disclaimers
NASA Official: Jay Norris. Specific rights apply.
A service of: LHEA at NASA / GSFC
& Michigan Tech. U.
Based on Astronomy Picture
Of the Day
Publications with keywords: Leonids - fireball - meteoroid - meteor shower
Publications with words: Leonids - fireball - meteoroid - meteor shower
See also: