A NASA-led team of researchers had the envious position of an airplane from which to watch the 2002 Leonid meteor shower
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 Jay Ouellet put multiple exposures together to capture the activity of the Leonids (above). Alejandro Bascolo photographed a colorful Leonid meteor.
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No two meteor showers are alike. Perhaps never was that more apparent than with the 2002 Leonid meteor shower compared to 2001.
This year brought a flurry of activity over North America in the pre-dawn hours of Nov. 19. It was here and gone in minutes, with little preamble. A similar scenario played out in Europe, but bad weather prevented many people there from seeing the show.
On the other hand, last year's Leonid peak was preceded by a buildup of activity that lasted hours. All morning, the sky lit up, increasing inexorably toward a crescendo that dazzled skywatchers with numerous bright shooting stars and a good number of explosive fireballs.
In 2002, most observers noted a significant absence of fireballs, and the meteors that were up there seemed generally fainter..
Nonetheless, in the eyes of many observers, the 2002 Leonids will go down in history spectacular event. The skies did open up, and the activity was likely the best that will occur for many decades.
Here we present photos submitted by SPACE.com visitors. Another gallery will be posted soon. And, for comparison, you can also peruse our four galleries from the 2001 version of the annual event.
-- Robert Roy Britt
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