When Gemini Sends Stars to Paranal
Explanation:
From a radiant point in the constellation of the Twins, the
annual
Geminid meteor shower rained down on planet Earth this week.
Recorded near the shower's peak in the early hours of December 14,
this skyscape captures
Gemini's lovely shooting stars
in a careful composite of 30 exposures, each 20 seconds long,
from the dark of the Chilean Atacama Desert over ESO's
Paranal Observatory.
In the foreground Paranal's four
Very Large Telescopes, four
Auxillary Telescopes, and the
VLT Survey telescope
are all open and observing.
The skies above are shared with bright Jupiter (left), Orion, (top
left), and the faint light of the Milky Way.
Dust swept up from the orbit of
active asteroid
3200 Phaethon,
Gemini's meteors enter the atmosphere traveling
at about 22 kilometers per second.
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.
