Explanation:
This bright and colorful
meteor flashed through Tuesday's
early morning skies, part of the annual
Perseid Meteor
Shower.
The lovely image is one of over 350 frames captured on August 12
from the Joshua Tree National Park,
in California, USA .
Dust from comet
Swift-Tuttle
is responsible for the
Perseids, creating the northern hemisphere's regular
summer sky show.
The comet dust is vaporized as it enters the atmosphere at upwards
of 60 kilometers per second, producing visible trails that begin at
altitudes of around 100 kilometers.
Of course, the trails point back to a
radiant point in
the constellation Perseus, giving the meteor shower its name.
Recorded after moonset, the starry background features the
bright star Vega on the right.
Extending below the western horizon is the faint band of the
northern Milky Way.
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