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Credit & Copyright: Fritz Helmut Hemmerich
Explanation:
Small bits of this greenish-gray comet are expected to streak across Earth's atmosphere
tonight.
Specifically, debris from the
eroding nucleus of
Comet 21P / Giacobini-Zinner, pictured,
causes the annual Draconids meteor shower, which peaks this evening.
Draconid meteors are easy to enjoy this year because meteor rates will likely
peak soon after sunset with the
Moon's glare nearly absent.
Patience may be needed, though, as last month's
passing of 21P near the Earth's orbit is
not expected to increase the Draconids' normal meteor rate this year of
(only) a few meteors per hour.
Then again, meteor rates are notoriously hard to predict, and
the Draconids were quite impressive in
1933, 1946, and 2011.
Featured, Comet 21P gracefully posed between the
Rosette (upper left) and
Cone (lower right)
nebulas two weeks ago before
heading back out to near the orbit of
Jupiter, to return again in about
six and a half years.
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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: comet - Cone nebula - Rosette Nebula
Publications with words: comet - Cone nebula - Rosette Nebula
See also:
- APOD: 2024 December 16 Á A Kilometer High Cliff on Comet Churyumov Gerasimenko
- APOD: 2024 November 27 Á The Meteor and the Comet
- APOD: 2024 November 11 Á The Unusual Tails of Comet Tsuchinshan Atlas
- APOD: 2024 November 6 Á Comet Tsuchinshan Atlas over the Dolomites
- APOD: 2024 October 21 Á Comet Tsuchinshan ATLAS over California
- Comet Tsuchinshan ATLAS Flys Away
- Most of Comet Tsuchinshan ATLAS