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Credit & Copyright: Frank Kuszaj
Explanation:
Meteors can be colorful.
While the human
eye usually cannot discern many colors, cameras often can.
Pictured is a
Quadrantids meteor
captured by camera over
Missouri,
USA,
early this month
that was not only impressively bright, but colorful.
The
radiant grit, likely cast off by asteroid
2003 EH1,
blazed a path across Earth's atmosphere.
Colors in meteors usually originate from ionized elements released as the
meteor disintegrates, with blue-green typically originating from
magnesium,
calcium
radiating violet, and
nickel glowing green.
Red, however, typically originates from energized
nitrogen and
oxygen in the Earth's atmosphere.
This bright
meteoric
fireball
was gone in a flash -- less than a second -- but it left a
wind-blown ionization trail that
remained visible for several minutes.
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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
Publications with words: meteor
See also: