Eta Aquarids Weren't Quite Done Yet

The half-hour time block from 4:00-4:30 AM on Tuesday, May 7, 2013 was rather active for the remainder of the Eta Aquarids meteor shower. The peak viewing time for this shower was over the weekend but local clouds prevented that opportunity here. A single meteor streak capture can be seen at upper left. What appears to be a bright meteor at bottom, just right of the left-most large tree, was in fact unidentified. It was slow moving and probably an aircraft of some kind. The meteor travelled upward, away from its apparent radiant point (cluster of stars just above and left of the right tree) in the constellation Aquarius. This view looks east over our backyard from Bowman Woods Park in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. Temperature was around 50 degrees F. The image, shot around 4:15 AM, is a 30-second exposure at f/3.5, 400 ISO and 18mm focal length.