November 29, 2000
The same forces that sculpt nebulae and spin galaxies into existence were at work the day you were born.
Leonids from Orbit
Birthday · November 29, 2000
A little universe, just for you
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APOD published November 29, 2000. Full image credits are on the original APOD entry below. A publication-date match, not a photo taken on your date. Independent of NASA.
Here is what a meteor shower looks like from orbit. During the peak of the 1997 Leonid Meteor Shower, the MSX satellite imaged from above 29 meteors over a 48 minute period entering the Earth's atmosphere. From above, meteors create short bright streaks. Visible beneath the meteors are clouds lit by reflected moonlight, while visible above is the constellation of Aries. The directions of the meteor streaks are nearly parallel, confirming that the meteors all originate from the same meteor stream. Recent analysis of the 2000 Leonids meteor shower indicates to many astronomers that the 2001 Leonids may develop into a real meteor storm, with meteor rates perhaps exceeding one per second visible from parts of Asia.