Meteor Shower Pictures Of 2011

Did you wish upon a shooting star in 2011? In case you missed your chance, here are some of our favorite meteor shower images from 2011.

According to NASA, the best meteor shower of summer 2011 took place in August. The Perseids, which have been observed for around 2,000 years, are caused by the Earth passing through "the debris trail left behind comet Swift-Tuttle."

In December, Canadian astronomers captured a basketball-sized meteor on video. The fireball, which could be seen moving east of Toronto, was unrelated to the concurrent Geminid meteor shower.

A time-lapse video of December's impressive Geminid meteor shower can be seen here.

For a look at some of the best lunar and solar eclipse pictures of 2011, check out these images.

Check out some of the best meteor shower pictures from 2011 and be sure to vote for your favorites. Flickr images courtesy of credited users under the Creative Commons license. All NASA images, in false color, courtesy of NASA/MSFC/Meteoroid Environment Office.

For more on the best of 2011, visit bestof2011.aol.com.

Comments

[Abigail Bellamy]

04:24 PM on 01/02/2012

2012 is going to be a great year for meteor showers! I observed the Quadrantids last year and it was amazing! I've found great viewing information on this site: http://www.spacedex.com/quadrantids - Hope you all enjoy the show in a few days!

[gamberdm]

06:59 PM on 12/31/2011

So sad to see so few comments! I always miss these natural and brilliant lightshows! I just can't stay up late enough or get up early enough!

[Al Schrader]

05:29 AM on 12/31/2011

Star trails too

[rdk70816]

09:11 PM on 12/30/2011

There is only one common denominator in the universe and that is violence. The planets zoom around stars and the stars eventually exhaust their energy and collapse the planets inward as they make one last gasp of energy. The galaxies themselves collide and modify the workings of each. And humans are made of the star stuff into which has been injected life or a recognition of self. We have but six billion years to escape our galaxy. But then in 30 billion years the dark energy will overcome the force of gravity and the universe will become still and cold. And there will be peace.

[lex19999]

04:34 AM on 12/31/2011

Thou has got that rite

[Al Schrader]

05:16 AM on 12/31/2011

Not quite. You see stars work on Einstein's E = mc^2 equation, but because it is an equation, with an equal sign, it works like this as well: mc^2 = E , something just as powerful and important. All of it is in a continuous loop: light (photon particles) condenses into dust, dust becomes meteors, meteors become moons and planets (like these meteors landing or breaking up on the Earth), and planets become stars which then become light starting the whole process again.
It's not all going to condense into one big lump. The Big Bang never happened. It just goes on forever into the past and forever into the future. Oh, and today is December 31st, 2011 so Happy New Year!!!! ...Alfred-

[rdk70816]

09:51 AM on 12/31/2011

Stephen Hawking corrected him.
Happy New Year.

[Al Schrader]

04:20 PM on 12/31/2011

Stephen Hawkings is not the expert on this, I am. Hawkings is a genius, and I like him....Alfred-

[Baconoir]

08:19 PM on 12/30/2011

Orionids in a couple days!

[Tyler Derosier]

02:16 PM on 12/29/2011

Cool, but a few of those are just long exposures of star trails.

[ThinkCreeps]

01:43 AM on 12/31/2011

Indeed. It would be interesting to hear the editor's explanation of why the headline picture doesn't show any meteors.