January 30, 1998
The Moon has changed phase thousands of times since the beginning of the cosmos, but only once did it shine on the night you arrived.
Tempel-Tuttle: The Leonid Comet
Birthday · January 30, 1998
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APOD published January 30, 1998. Credit: T. Puckett (Puckett Observatory). A publication-date match, not a photo taken on your date. Independent of NASA.
Star trails streak this composite time exposure of Comet Tempel-Tuttle recorded by T. Puckett on January 26. Presently passing through the inner solar system on its 33 year orbit around the Sun, Tempel-Tuttle has brightened unexpectedly, but binoculars or small telescopes are still required to visually observe it. Tempel-Tuttle is also called "the Leonid Comet" as the yearly Leonid meteor shower results when the Earth crosses this comet's orbital plane and encounters cometary dust. So, while not currently rivaling the spectacle of a Hyakutake or Hale-Bopp, Tempel-Tuttle may still put on a show. When the Earth plunges through Tempel-Tuttle's debris tail in November of this year, many sky-watchers are anticipating an extremely active meteor shower to result, perhaps even a meteor storm!
Image credit: T. Puckett (Puckett Observatory)