Three Halley debris meteors captured over Georgia
A Toccoa photographer logged the streaks at 3 a.m. on Oct. 21, days before the Orionid shower reaches its peak activity.
By Madison Morris ·
Three bright meteors from Comet Halley’s debris crossed the sky above Toccoa, Georgia, on the night of Oct. 21. The event occurred between 3 a.m. and 4 a.m. as the annual Orionid meteor shower approached its peak.
The particles that created these glowing trails originated from Comet 1P/Halley. Although the comet is currently more than 3 billion miles from Earth, the dust it shed continues to intersect with the planet's atmosphere. Each recorded meteor appeared to race away from the shower's radiant point. That point is located near Betelgeuse, a red giant star in the constellation Orion.
Tim McCollum, an astrophotographer based in Toccoa, captured the image. He used a Canon EOS Ra camera paired with an RF 28-70 f2.0 lens. A star tracker kept the equipment locked on the radiant throughout the session. McCollum took multiple 30-second exposures and merged them into a single composite using PixInsight software.
The final photograph includes other celestial features. The stars of Orion’s Belt appear on the right side of the frame, adjacent to the glow of the Orion Nebula. The Rosette Nebula, identified as Caldwell 49, is also visible within the dense starfield of the Milky Way's galactic plane. Numerous star clusters are scattered throughout the background.
The Orionid shower remains active until Nov. 7. This window provides additional nights for observers to spot meteors from Halley’s Comet. The display builds toward peak activity in the coming days.
Earth is also passing through debris streams from Comet 2P/Encke. These streams produce the Taurid meteor shower, which can generate the occasional Halloween Fireball for lucky observers.
Source: Space.com
