Toccoa photographer records three Halley meteors

A Georgia photographer captured three distinct meteor trails from the Orionid shower on Oct. 21.

The annual meteor display is driven by debris shed by Comet 1P/Halley. Despite the comet itself being more than 3 billion miles from Earth, the particles it left behind continue to burn up in the atmosphere.

The Orionids have been active throughout the month. The current activity is part of a long-term pattern where Earth passes through the dust trail of Halley's Comet every year. This specific event represents one of the two annual showers linked to that ancient object.

Tim McCollum recorded the three meteors above Toccoa, Georgia. The streaks occurred between 3 a.m. and 4 a.m. on Oct. 21. Each meteor appeared to radiate from a specific point in the sky known as the radiant. This point is located near Betelgeuse, a red giant star in the constellation Orion.

McCollum used a Canon EOS Ra camera paired with an RF 28-70 f2.0 lens. He employed a star tracker to keep the camera aligned with the radiant during the shoot. The process involved multiple 30-second exposures that were later merged into a single composite image using PixInsight software.

The final image includes several deep sky objects alongside the meteors. Orion's Belt and the Orion Nebula appear on the right side of the frame. The Rosette Nebula, catalogued as Caldwell 49, is also visible within the dense starfield. The galactic plane of the Milky Way runs diagonally across the background.

The Orionid shower remains active until Nov. 7. This window allows observers additional chances to see meteors from Halley's Comet. A secondary phenomenon may also occur as Earth passes through debris from Comet 2P/Encke. This stream produces the Taurid meteor shower, which can generate bright fireballs around Halloween.