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Credit & Copyright:
Gang Li
Explanation:
Grains
of cosmic dust streaked through the mostly moonless
night skies of May 7.
Swept up as planet Earth plowed through the
debris streams left behind by
periodic Comet Halley,
the annual meteor shower is known as the
Eta Aquarids.
Though it was made about a day after the shower's predicted maximum,
this composite image still captures 20 meteors in exposures taken
over a 2 hour period, registered on a background exposure of the sky.
The meteor trails point back to the
shower radiant near
eponymous faint star Eta Aquarii close to the horizon, seen from
100 kilometers south of Sydney Australia.
Known for speed, Eta Aquarid meteors move fast,
entering the atmosphere at about 66 kilometers
per
second.
Brilliant Jupiter shines near the central bulge of the Milky
Way high above the horizon.
The Southern Cross is just tucked in to the upper right
corner of the frame.
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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: meteor shower
Publications with words: meteor shower
See also: