Daytime Photograph of a Group of Meteor Trails

Abstract

THE photograph of a group of meteor trails with a red glow beneath them shown in Fig. 1 was taken by an automatic camera from an altitude of 30.6 km at 0746 local time (2146 UT) at latitude 23° S, longitude 146° E, looking west, on November 11, 1968. The camera was an Olympus “PEN EM” half-frame 35 mm, set f/8 with an automatic exposure control. It was loaded with “Kodachrome II” colour reversal film, and it took a photograph of the horizon every 2 min in order to study dust layers in the stratosphere. It was mounted on the payload of a “Hibal” balloon operated by the Australian Department of Supply for the Health and Safety Laboratories of the Atomic Energy Commission of the United States.