Draconid Meteors Composite

The Draconids meteor shower in 2011 was unusually active when it reached the peak time on October 8. The above image is a composite result of wide-angle photos taken during 90 minutes of highest activity of the shower in the early evening of southern Spain. There are 40 meteors captured in this result. The Celtic ruins of Capote (4th century BC) was the imaging place of the photographer. Strong moonlight during the night hided away many of the faint Draconid meteors. The particles that caused these meteors were typically the size of a pebble and were expelled long ago from the nucleus of comet 21P/Giacobini-Zinner. Most of the above meteors can be traced back to a single radiant emanating from the constellation of the Dragon (Draco). Move the slider on the image to see the celestial figures and labels.