Explanation:
Denizens of planet Earth watched last year's Perseid meteor shower
by looking up into the bright
moonlit night sky.
But this
remarkable view captured
on August 13, 2011 by astronaut Ron Garan
looks down on a Perseid meteor.
From Garan's
perspective onboard the
International Space Station
orbiting at an altitude of about 380 kilometers,
the Perseid meteors streak below,
swept up dust
left from comet Swift-Tuttle heated to incandescence.
The glowing comet dust
grains are traveling at
about 60 kilometers per second through
the denser atmosphere around 100 kilometers above Earth's surface.
In this case, the foreshortened meteor flash is right
of frame center,
below the curving limb of the Earth and a layer of greenish
airglow, just below bright star
Arcturus.
Want to look up at this year's Perseid meteor shower?
You're in luck.
This weekend
the shower should be near its peak,
with less interference from a waning crescent Moon rising a few
hours before the Sun.
New
Curiosity Images:
Including a color Gale Cratervista
