Astronomy Picture of the Day

    Discover the cosmos! Each day a different image or photograph of our
      fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation
                    written by a professional astronomer.

                               2019 August 15

                         The Perseids and the Plough
                  Image Credit & Copyright: Jeff Dai (TWAN)

   Explanation: Despite interfering moonlight, many denizens of planet
   Earth were able to watch this year's Perseid meteor shower. This
   pastoral scene includes local skygazers admiring the shower's brief,
   heavenly flashes in predawn hours near peak activity on August 13 from
   Nalati Grassland in Xinjiang, China. A composite, the image registers
   seven frames taken during a two hour span recording Perseid meteor
   streaks against a starry sky. Centered along the horizon is the Plough,
   the north's most famous asterism, though some might see the familiar
   celestial kitchen utensil known as the Big Dipper. Perhaps the year's
   most easily enjoyed meteor shower, Perseid meteors are produced as
   Earth itself sweeps through dust from periodic comet Swift-Tuttle. The
   dust particles are vaporized at altitudes of 100 kilometers or so as
   they plow through the atmosphere at 60 kilometers per second.

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       Authors & editors: Robert Nemiroff (MTU) & Jerry Bonnell (UMCP)
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