Geminid Meteors over Chile
Explanation:
From a radiant point in the constellation of the Twins, the
annual
Geminid meteor shower rained down on planet Earth over
the past few weeks.
Recorded near the shower's peak over the night of
December 13 and 14, the above
skyscape captures
Gemini's shooting stars in a four-hour composite from the
dark skies of the
Las
Campanas Observatory in
Chile.
In the foreground the 2.5-meter
du Pont Telescope
is visible as well as the 1-meter
SWOPE telescope.
The skies beyond the meteors are highlighted by
Jupiter,
seen as the bright spot near the image center,
the central band of our
Milky Way Galaxy,
seen vertically on the image left, and the pinkish
Orion Nebula on the far left.
Dust swept up from the orbit of
active asteroid
3200 Phaethon,
Gemini's meteors enter the atmosphere traveling
at about 22 kilometers per second.
Free lecture:
APOD editor to speak in New York City on Jan. 3
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.
