Explanation:
Some beautiful things begin as grains of sand.
Locked in an oyster, a granule grows into an iridescent
pearl,
lustrous and lovely to behold.
While hurtling through the atmosphere at 35 kilometers per second, a generous cosmic sand grain becomes an awe-inspiring meteor, its transient
beauty displayed for any who care to watch.
This years
Geminid meteor shower peaked last week with sky enthusiasts counting as many as
150 meteors per hour, despite the din of bright moon.
Pictured above the
Taftan volcano in southeast Iran, a meteor streaks between the bright star
Sirius on the far left and the familiar constellation of
Orion toward the image center.
Sky watchers are looking forward to
next years Geminids
which should peak during a unobstructive new Moon.
Discovery + Outreach:
Graduate student research position open for APOD
