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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Authors & editors: Robert Nemiroff (MTU) & Jerry Bonnell (USRA)
NASA Web Site Statements, Warnings, and Disclaimers
NASA Official: Jay Norris. Specific rights apply.
A service of: LHEA at NASA / GSFC
& Michigan Tech. U.

Publikacii s klyuchevymi slovami: Perseids - Perseidy Publikacii so slovami: Perseids - Perseidy
Sm. takzhe: Meteory vdol' Mlechnogo Puti Perseidy iz Perseya Meteor i Mlechnyi Put' nad Sredizemnym morem Perseidy i polnaya Luna Perseidy i teleskop MAGIC Noch' Perseid Vsplesk aktivnosti Perseid so smotrovoi ploshadki Vestmit Vse publikacii na tu zhe temu >>