Perseid Impactor
Every year on August 12th the Earth crosses the debris trail of the comet Swift-Tuttle bringing about the night of the Perseid shooting stars. In years of new moon these 140.000 km/h fast objects can be photographed. The majority of the shooting stars are only as large as dust particles resulting in unspectacular sights. However, in August 1993 this meteorite, as bright as the full moon, illuminated the 3700 m high glaciated peaks of the Hohe Tauern in Austria. The explosion of the meteorites core including the orange trail is well visible. The afterglow was visible for minutes. This object had about the size of a tennis ball and probably made it to the ground.
August 1993
Pentax Me, Pentax 29mm, f/2, 10min, Purus astronomical mount, Kodak E6, ISO 100, tripod