Leonids and Leica

As seen on Astronomy Picture of the Day this lovely view from northern Spain at Cape Creus on the easternmost point of the Iberian peninsula, looks out across the Mediterranean and up into the stream of the 2002 Leonid meteor shower. The picture is a composite of thirty separate one minute exposures taken through a fisheye lens. Over 80 Leonid meteors are visible, some seen nearly head on. Bright Jupiter is positioned just to the right of the shower’s radiant in Leo. Perched on the moonlit rocks at the bottom right, Leica, the photographers’ dog, seems to be watching the ongoing celestial display and adds a surreal visual element to the scene.