Astronomy Picture of the Day

Explanation: Reports of the 2002 Leonid Meteor Shower are coming in from across the world. Preliminary indications have the shower as less active than last year but with an impressive peak seen through 1030 and 1100 Universal Time visible from much of North America. Observers reported many meteors at the peak arriving in groups. Pictured above is one such meteor from the peak caught earlier today by the Night Sky Live continuous camera at Kitt Peak National Observatory in Arizona, USA. A memorable event of the 2002 Leonids was when the town of Mitzpe Ramon in Israel dimmed its lights to allow better imaging of Leonid meteors from Wise Observatory.