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Birthday · November 23, 1999

Leonids Above Torre de la Guaita

November 23, 1999

The light from the farthest visible stars set out on its journey long before your first birthday.

Leonids Above Torre de la Guaita

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APOD published November 23, 1999. Credit: Juan Carlos Casado. A publication-date match, not a photo taken on your date. Independent of NASA.

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Leonids Above Torre de la Guaita

Original APOD · November 23, 1999

The 1999 Leonids Meteor Shower came to a tremendous crescendo. Observers in Europe observed a sharp peak in the number of meteors visible around 0210 UTC during the early morning hours of November 18. Meteor counts then exceeded 1000 per hour - the minimum needed to define a true meteor storm. At other times and from other locations around the world, observers typically reported respectable rates of between 30 and 100 meteors per hour. The above photograph is a 20-minute exposure ending just before the main Leonids peak began. Visible are at least five Leonids meteors streaking high above the Torre de la Guaita, an observation tower used during the 12th century in Gorina, Spain.

Image credit: Juan Carlos Casado

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