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Credit & Copyright: Jimmy Westlake
(Colorado Mountain College)
Explanation:
Just after the
Moon set but before the
Sun rose in the
early morning hours of 2000 August 12,
meteors pelted the Earth from the direction of the constellation
Perseus, while
ions
pelted the Earth from the
Sun.
The
meteors were expected as sub-sand grains long left behind by
Comet Swift-Tuttle annually create the
Perseids Meteor Shower.
The aurorae
were unexpected, however, as
electrons,
protons, and
heavier ions raced out from a large
Coronal Mass Ejection that had
occurred just days
before on the Sun.
In the foreground is Hahn's Peak, an extinct volcano in
Colorado,
USA.
The Perseid meteor shower peaks this year over the next few days,
with as much as one bright
meteor per minute visible from some locations.
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NASA Web Site Statements, Warnings, and Disclaimers
NASA Official: Jay Norris. Specific rights apply.
A service of: LHEA at NASA / GSFC
& Michigan Tech. U.
Based on Astronomy Picture
Of the Day
Publications with keywords: Perseids - meteor shower - aurora
Publications with words: Perseids - meteor shower - aurora
See also:
- APOD: 2024 January 14 Á Dragon Aurora over Iceland
- Quadrantids of the North
- APOD: 2024 January 3 Á A SAR Arc from New Zealand
- APOD: 2023 December 17 Á Geminids over Chinas Nianhu Lake
- APOD: 2023 December 12 Á Aurora and Milky Way over Norway
- The SAR and the Milky Way
- APOD: 2023 November 5 Á Creature Aurora Over Norway