Fireball with Smoke Trail and Airglow over California

Fireball with Smoke Trail and Airglow over California

Astrophotographer Steven Friend: "On the night of Aug 12/13 while shooting the Perseid shower I caught a bright meteor that left a smoke trail. The trail was visible by the unaided eye for about 4 minutes and in the photos for over 17 minutes. I don't know if this was a Perseid as it came from a sharp angle (about 30 degrees) off of the radiant."

Final image: "While shooting the Perseid shower, I was able to see and bit of light to the north of me in the sky. I had seen a faint airglow in a few of my previous photos but it was very dim. It looked to be getting better so I took a photo. It was better than I thought."

In astronomy, fireballs, also known as bolides, are exceptionally bright meteors that, like all meteors, heat up when they enter Earth's atmosphere at high velocities and leave a trail of glowing material in the sky. Meteors are classified as fireballs when they shine brighter than the planets—an apparent magnitude of –4 or brighter. 

Perseids: Fast Facts

Comet of Origin: 109P/Swift-Tuttle

Radiant Constellation: Perseus

Active: Through Aug. 24, 2026 (Peak nights: Aug. 12-13)

Observed Under Dark Skies: About 25 meteors per hour

Meteor Velocity: 37 miles (59 km) per second

Airglow, a faint emission of light caused by chemical reactions and interactions between ultraviolet radiation and gases in our atmosphere (unlike aurora caused by solar wind particles interacting with Earth’s magnetic field, airglow is present everywhere, all of the time).

California is a state in the Western United States that lies on the Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares an international border with the Mexican state of Baja California to the south. 

Image Credit: Steven Friend
Location: Weaver Bally near Weaverville, California
Date: Aug. 13, 2026

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