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Explanation: Plowing through Earth's atmosphere at 60 kilometers per second, this bright perseid meteor streaks along a starry Milky Way. Captured in dark Portugal skies on August 12, it moves right to left through the frame. Its colorful trail starts near Deneb (alpha Cygni) and ends near Altair (alpha Aquilae), stars of the northern summer triangle. In fact this perseid meteor very briefly outshines both, two of the brightest stars in planet Earth's night. The trail's initial greenish glow is typical of the bright perseid shower meteors. The grains of cosmic sand, swept up dust from periodic comet Swift-Tuttle, are moving fast enough to excite the characteristic green emission of atomic oxygen at altitudes of 100 kilometers or so before vaporizing in an incandescent flash.
Notable APOD Image Submissions:
Perseid
Meteor Shower 2021
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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
Publications with words: Perseids
See also:
- APOD: 2025 August 3 Á Milky Way and Exploding Meteor
- APOD: 2024 August 12 Á Perseid Meteors over Stonehenge
- APOD: 2024 August 11 Á Animation: Perseid Meteor Shower
- A Perseid Below
- Meteors along the Milky Way
- APOD: 2023 August 9 Á Meteor Shower: Perseids from Perseus
- Meteor and Milky Way over the Mediterranean