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Credit & Copyright: Tom Burnett
Explanation:
What's happening to this meteor?
This bright meteor streak
appeared and disappeared quickly during a long exposure of the
Great Lacerta Nebula,
seen faintly in red toward the center of the image.
The meteoroid, likely a small pebble,
creates its glow partly by heating and exciting surrounding air in
Earth's atmosphere,
but itself vaporizes and leaves wind-blown gas and dust with
colors that give clues to its composition.
The featured image was captured last month from
Death Valley Observatories in
Nevada,
USA.
This month, though, is particularly good for
seeing meteors.
Presently there are
three
meteor
showers ongoing,
although they are currently
competing for visibility with the glow of a bright
gibbous Moon.
The most active of these showers, the
Perseids, will be busiest in about 10 days --
after the Moon has dimmed considerably.
This year, the
Perseids peak nearly coincides with not only a
new Moon, but, from some locations, one that
totally eclipses the
Sun.
Sky Surprise:
What picture did APOD feature on your birthday? (after 1995)
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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: meteor
Publications with words: meteor
See also:
- APOD: 2025 August 25 Á The Meteor and the Star Cluster
- APOD: 2025 August 6 Á Meteor before Galaxy
- APOD: 2024 November 27 Á The Meteor and the Comet
- Meteor over the Bay of Naples
- Fireball over Iceland
- APOD: 2023 August 23 Á The Meteor and the Galaxy
- APOD: 2023 July 16 Á Meteor and Milky Way over the Alps