Meteor 'n' Mars

As luck would have it, a meteor appeared in the frame of one of 64 images I was taking to create a stacked star trail image. Also seen in this image looking east from just west of the grounds at Christ Community United Methodist Church in Marion, Iowa is the -1.00 magnitude planet Mars at center. Mars is the brightest object amid stars of the constellation Leo. Encroaching clouds are seen at right. The months of February and March are usual slow times for meteor activity with early morning times as the most favorable for viewing them, so this occurrence was very satisfying. This image was shot at 9:00 PM, Saturday, February 18, 2012. It is a 30-second exposure at f/4.5, 250 ISO, 18mm focal length.