Comet dust rained down on planet Earth last week, streaking through dark skies [ http://science.nasa…gallery_12aug04.htm ] in the annual Perseid meteor shower [ http://skyandtelesc…article_649_1.asp ]. So, while enjoying the anticipated [ http://liftoff.msfc…meteors/Showers.html ] space weather, astronomer Fred Bruenjes recorded a series of many 30 second long exposures spanning about six hours on the night of August 11/12 using a wide angle lens. Combining those frames which captured meteor flashes [ http://www.comet-tr…perseids04.html#star t ], he produced this dramatic view of the Perseids of summer [ http://science.nasa…25jun_perseids2004.h tm ]. Although the comet dust particles are traveling parallel to each other, the resulting shower meteors clearly seem to radiate from a single point on the sky in the eponymous constellation [ http://stardate.org…] Perseus. The radiant effect is due to perspective [ http://mathforum.or…perspect.html ], as the parallel tracks appear to converge at a distance. Bruenjes notes that there are 51 Perseid meteors in the composite image [ http://www.moonglow…index.html#perseids ], including one seen nearly head-on.
