ISS/Discovery, Fireball & Meteors

Tom King

Image taken:

Sep. 8, 2009

Location:

Backyard observatory, Watauga, Texas, USA.

Details:

One Evening nets one Space Shuttle Discovery, one International Space Station (starting with a sun-flare off the station), four meteors, and one fireball for the all-sky camera. So many special events make this quite a remarkable night! Early in the evening, my wife and I watched as Space Shuttle Discovery led the ISS over north central Texas, two brilliant dots marching one after the other at dusk, providing a unique sight I will always remember! The fireball appeared about nine hours later, and seems to almost emerge from the Moon. An still image of the fireball, recording the complete trail, reveals the intensity of the fireball is only somewhat lower than the Moon! Four additional meteors are recorded through the night, prior to the fireball. Photo details: All-sky camera with PC164C high sensitivity b/w camera, Rainbow f/1.2 3.5-6mm lens. Images processed in Photoshop CS.

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