The explanation under the 2006-10-23 image states:
"The above image shows brilliant multiple meteor streaks that can all be connected to a single point in the sky just above the belt of Orion, called the radiant. "
On the image the meteorid trails have their radiant near Castor and Pollux at the top left of the picture!
What is going wrong?
Aad Goddijn
Orionids, 2006 (APOD 23 Oct 2006)
It's there
All of Orion is in the picture - try using "stretch" if you are viewing it as wallpaper. 8)
Nature is a haunted house; art is a house that tries to be haunted. - Emily DIckinson
As Angustaff says, all of Orion is in the picture, including RIgel to the lower right of Orion's
belt. Sirius is also there below left of the belt. I believe Procyon is the bright star near the
left edge of the picture a bit above the centerline..
As for the radiant, I agree the meteor lines converge rather far to the north, above
Betelgeuse it seems. The lens has a lot of edge aberration (stars near the edge of field
are lines, not points), and also a lot of distortion. The distortion makes it hard for me to tell, for
example, if Aldebaran or Castor and Pollux are shown. The distortion could make the
radiant appear north of its true position. Anyway, radiants are only approximate: the real physical situation is that the Earth is plowing through a sweeping cloud of orbiting sand. Individual sand grains can differ a bit in their orbits, and the apparent radiant can change
a little from night to night.
belt. Sirius is also there below left of the belt. I believe Procyon is the bright star near the
left edge of the picture a bit above the centerline..
As for the radiant, I agree the meteor lines converge rather far to the north, above
Betelgeuse it seems. The lens has a lot of edge aberration (stars near the edge of field
are lines, not points), and also a lot of distortion. The distortion makes it hard for me to tell, for
example, if Aldebaran or Castor and Pollux are shown. The distortion could make the
radiant appear north of its true position. Anyway, radiants are only approximate: the real physical situation is that the Earth is plowing through a sweeping cloud of orbiting sand. Individual sand grains can differ a bit in their orbits, and the apparent radiant can change
a little from night to night.
The heavens declare the glory of God.