Corfu, Greece fireball
© Bill Metallinos
The photo above showing a startling fireball appearing to rip apart the night sky was seen during a star observation session at Mount Pantokrator on the Greek island of Corfu.

I had set my camera up to get a picture of our small group and before long this brilliant meteor lit up the surrounding landscape. It was approximately -8 magnitude or about 25 times brighter than Venus at its brightest -- so bright that we were bathed in a sea of blue-green light. You can see the reflection on my 16 in (41 cm) telescope, on the table at right-center and on the side of my car.

Click here to see a short animation. [Revised May 2017]

Photo Details: Canon EOS 40D camera; 15mm fisheye lens; f/2.8; ISO 800; 30-second exposure; Photoshop; Cropped.

Corfu, Greece Coordinates: 39.622317, 19.929843