Lyrid Meteor Fireball and Explosion

April 18, 2016

Lyrid_meteor

Photographer: Sam Cornwell
Summary Author: Sam Cornwell

The Lyrid meteor shower occurs each year between about April 16 and April 25. It's not one of the more impressive meteor showers, nonetheless on a clear, moonless night, away from city lights, upwards of 20 shooting stars may be seen each hour. Shown above is a fireball observed over Kielder, U.K., that was snapped during last year's Lyrid's shower. Click here to see the smoke trail from the explosion of this fireball. Drift patterns from the smoke trail have been used to provide information on upper atmospheric wind conditions. Photo taken on April 23, 2015.

Photo Details: Camera: Canon EOS 5D Mark II; Lens: EF17-40mm f/4L USM; Focal Length: 17mm; Aperture: ƒ/4.0; Exposure Time: 30.000 s; ISO equiv: 3200; Software: Adobe Photoshop CC (Macintosh).

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