Meteor showers happen when masses of meteors fall into the earth's atmosphere in a shower, producing heavenly fireworks. They are named after the constellations in which they are seen. On October 24th, we had the Orionid showers, and on November 17th, we are about to witness the Leonid showers.

Many people may remember the eagerness with which Bangaloreans looked forward to the Leonid meteor shower a few years ago; alas, many of the meteors arrived a little ahead of schedule, and the actual date and time did not provide us the good spectacle that we hoped for. I remember sitting, with several neighbours, on the roof of our apartment building, sharing snacks and coffee, and joking that though we had not seen much, at least the heavens had brought the neighbours together!

But when most of us are content to just watch the Leonid meteors, there are some who take a step further.

Meet Sriharsha Ganjam, a young amateur photographer and astronomer in his late twenties, who has had an idea that has never before, to his knowledge, been implemented: the making of a video documentary of the Leonid meteor shower.

Ganjam counts this attempt unique because, he says, he has looked extensively on the net, and has not found any other instance of a video documentary of any meteor shower, except the very short one of the Orionid showers that NASA put up just a few days ago. This video, too, has just one meteor streaking across.

"The Leonid shower, on the other hand, is supposed to be twice as strong as in other years, with two debris clouds intersecting each other, and peaking at the same time," says Ganjam. "The debris clouds were laid down by the comet Tempel-Tuttle, on its orbit around the sun."

Being an avid photographer, and an amateur astronomer from childhood, this young man decided that he would try and make this  video, as India was one of the prime locations for the shower according to NASA.

NASA?

"Yes," smiles Ganjam. "I was searching (on the net) for information, and found that NASA has a department called Meteroid Environment Office (MEO), which tracks meteors and meteor showers." NASA, in fact, responded to his email with a presentation, giving a lot of data about the showers, like their estimated ZHR density, and the time in India when the peak could be expected. "India is in the front seat, as far as witnessing this event is concerned, according to the MEO," explains Ganjam. "We also want to take advantage of the fact that we have a new moon that night, which removes any light glare from the moon."

The location that's best for this photography would be the north-west or the south-west of India, as the east would have the retreating monsoon. And since in Bangalore, the team has access to the south-west (Deccan) plateau, it proved to be a great opportunity. "All the factors, from the double-strength shower, to the location, and my being able to infuse others with the same enthusiasm, just fell into place this time," says Ganjam.

Hm, enthusiasm. How did he get 12 others to join him in the initiative? Ganjam has been a member in good standing of India Nature Watch, an online forum for wildlife photographers, and the photographers he knew were all looking for something different to do. Astrophotography fitted the bill perfectly, and he got a quick and eager response from his friends.

Deepa Mohan is a freelance writer who fell in love with Bangalore when first she moved from Chennai, and has been both enthused and worried over the rapidly changing city.

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