Delphinid Meteor Mystery
Explanation:
Over a five hour period last Tuesday morning,
exposures captured
this tantalizing view of meteor
streaks and the Milky Way in dark skies above
Las Campanas Observatory in Chile.
During that time, astronomers had hoped
to see an outburst from the
gamma
Delphinid meteor shower
as Earth swept through the dust trail left
by an
unknown comet.
Named for the
shower's radiant point
in the constellation Delphinus,
a brief but strong outburst was reported in bright,
moonlit skies on June 10, 1930.
While no strong Delphinid meteor activity was reported since,
an outburst was tentatively predicted to occur
again in 2013.
But even though Tuesday's skies were dark, the overall
rate of meteors
in this field is low, and only the three lower meteor streaks
seem to point back to the shower's estimated radiant.
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.
