A major fireball meteor was captured in a photograph taken over the Dolomite Alps in Italy on November 14, 2017. The image, featured by NASA as the Astronomy Picture of the Day, shows the bright streak of the meteor flashing across the sky above the village of La Villa in Alta Badia. The event was widely reported in European skies and stands as one of the most reported fireball events in the history of the American Meteor Society and the International Meteor Organization.
Photographing the Event in the Dolomites
The photograph was taken from a mountain pass in subfreezing temperatures. It captures the snowy, rugged peaks of the Dolomites against a sky glowing with the soft pinkish colors of fading twilight. The village lights of La Villa are visible below, while the constellation Ursa Major hangs over the northern horizon. The meteor itself flashed from east to west across the northern horizon, passing directly under the familiar Big Dipper asterism of Ursa Major. The image was composed thoughtfully, with the meteor appearing as a serendipitous capture during the camera’s exposure.
Link to Encke’s Comet
The meteor’s measured track over Germany is consistent with its origin near the active radiant of the Northern Taurid Meteor Shower. This meteor shower is associated with dust from Encke’s comet. The alignment of the meteor’s path with the shower’s radiant provides a clear connection between the visual event and the debris trail left by the comet. The widespread sightings across Europe highlight the visibility of the object as it traveled through the atmosphere.
Source: NASA
