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Credit & Copyright: Petr Horálek
Explanation:
Have you watched the
Perseid meteor shower?
Though the annual shower's predicted peak was last night,
meteor activity should continue tonight (August 13/14),
best enjoyed by just looking up in clear, dark skies
after midnight.
Of course,
this year's Perseid shower has the advantage
of being active near the August 14 New Moon.
Since the nearly New Moon doesn't rise before the
morning twilight many fainter meteors are easier to spot until then,
with no interference from bright moonlight.
The Perseid meteor shower last occurred near a New Moon
in 2013.
That's when the exposures used to construct
this image were made, under dark, moonless skies
from Hvar Island off the coast of Croatia.
The widefield
composite includes 67
meteors streaming from
the heroic constellation Perseus, the shower's radiant,
captured during 2013 August 8-14 against
a background of faint
zodiacal light and the Milky Way.
The next moonless Perseid meteor shower will be in August 2018.
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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: