Leonids 2001: Photographic Results at Xinglong station
The Sino-Dutch Leonid Expedition 2001


Photo's made by Casper ter Kuile at Xinglong station


Last updated: 30 december 2001


View from the 2.16 meter telescope.

View at the buldings at Xinglong station as seen from the 2.16 meter telescope. The dome in the middle of this picture is the one from Jin Zhu from which we observed the Leonid meteor storm. Note the clear view to the mountains in the back. The atmosphere at this location is almost free from (Beijing) smog and is very dry. Limiting magnitudes easely reach 6.5 and sometimes even 7.0


This is the world famous observatory platform of Jin Zhu's observatory.

This is the now world famous platform from which Koen Miskotte, Arnold Tukkers, Casper ter Kuile, Jin Zhu and his daughter and students observed the great Leonid 2001 meteor storm. It is the roof of Jin Zhu's observatory at Xinglong station. Note the dome of the 60 cm Schmidt telescope in the background. At the right side of the platform the camera-array's and videosystems where located.


A view on the observatory from the other side.

At this view you see the observatory platform at left and the Schmidt-dome at right. Observers had to walk around the dome to reach the platform. The computerroom is behind the dome.


Another view of the observatory platform of Jin's observatory. Note the flat roof and the dome at right. Visual observers were located at this side of the roof, the technical equipment is located at the right outside this picture.

Another view of the observatory platform of Jin's observatory. Note the flat roof and the dome at right. Visual observers were located at this left side of the roof, the technical equipment is located at the right outside this picture. Again note the fine observing conditions at this site!


Jos and me investigated the surroundings of the Xinglong station. To have a clear view at all the domes at the Xinglong station Jos had to climb in a meteomast

At a fine sunny morning Jos and I investigated the surroundings of the Xinglong station which at that time was still covered by snow. To have a clear view at all the domes at the Xinglong station Jos had to climb in a meteomast to take a picture.


All video systems are show here at the Xinglong observatory in operational status

All image intensified video systems of the Sino-Dutch Leonid Expedition 2001 are show here in the computerroom of Dr. Jin Zhu's observatory at Xinglong station in operational status


This picture in the computerroom of Jin's observatory shows the camera-array's for their final test.

This picture in the computerroom of Jin's observatory shows the camera-array's for their final test. The autimatic transport of the camera's by the computercontrolled command back of the Canon T-70 is tested. The electronically controlled rotating shutter is tested. All clocks of the command back 70's are reprogrammed with help of the GPS clockreading. At last all lenses of the camera's are checked they are set at the correct stopsetting are are set to infinity. Then films are loaded into the camera's and one more picture is taken. If all of these tests are O.K. the camera-array is ready for use.


Films, Films and Films...

Lots of films... Please note three sets, one set per station and one subset of 11 films per night. Totalling 99 films to be used by the camera-array's alone. Besides this films have been used for all-sky exposures, photographing of persisting trails, photographing fireballs low at the horizon and pictures utilizing a guiding system


Expedition member Arnold Tukkers is analysing his visual observations

Expedition member Arnold Tukkers is analysing his visual observations in the computerroom of Jin Zhu's Observatory at Xinglong station. Next step is to put in all the data into the DMS visual spreadsheet designed by Koen Miskotte and Hans Betlem using Caspers laptop computer. Another spreadsheet designed by Carl Johannink is used to compute the ZHR-values.


Expeditionmembers Arnold Tukkers, Koen Miskotte and Susi Wan using the computers at Jin Zhu's observatory to e-mail, to work out observations or the show a film of Mickey Mouse....

Expedition members Arnold Tukkers, Koen Miskotte and Susi Wan (oh those Chinese names...) using the computers of Jins observatory at Xinglong station. We e-mailed quite a lot using Caspers laptop computer. Most emails you received were send from this room at the Xinglong station or from the rooms at the Labor Hotel in Beijing. The other computers with a Chinese version of Excel were used the work out the observations. And yet other computers were used to copy CD's or to watch Mickey Mouse movies...


Expeditionmember Jos Nijland in his well known pose as statue at the location where Hans Betlem observed in 1998.

Expeditionmember Jos Nijland in his well known pose as statue at the location where Hans Betlem and team observed the Leonids in 1998.


This is the location where Hans Betlem and Pavel Spurny set up their photographic and video-equipment during the Sino-Dutch Leonid Expedition 1998

This is the location where Hans Betlem and Pavel Spurny set up their photographic and video-equipment during the Sino-Dutch Leonid Expedition 1998. During the Sino-Dutch Leonid Expedition 2001 this location was used by many Chinese visual and photographic observers. The location is somewhere in between the Schmidt-dome of Jin's observatory and the 2.16 meter telescope.


Jos Nijland measuring the location of the photographic and video-equipment used by the Sino-Dutch Leonid Expedition 1998 using a Garmin GPS

Jos Nijland measuring the location of the photographic and video-equipment used by the Sino-Dutch Leonid Expedition 1998 using a Garmin GPS. In 1998 the GPS-system proved not accurate enough for our purposes. The accuracy of the GPS-system in 1998 was about 100 meters and to accurately compute the orbital elements from photographic observations we need an accuracy of about 10 meters. In may 2000 the US-DOD turned off the SA (selective availability) signal which significantly improved the accuracy of GPS measurements to about 15 meters. This is why Hans asked us to measure again the location of their equipment.


Leonids 2001, Xinglong, November 18/19, 12 minute exposure, Canon T-70 + 28 mm




Acknowledgements and Sponsoring of the Sino-Dutch Leonid Expedition 2001


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Arnold Tukkers and Casper ter Kuile,