英仙座流星与银河
2021年8月3日
A Perseid Fireball and the Milky Way
Image Credit & Copyright: Dandan Huang
Explanation: It was bright and green and flashed as it moved quickly along the Milky Way. It left a trail that took 30 minutes to dissipate. Given the day, August 12, and the direction, away from Perseus, it was likely a small bit from the nucleus of Comet Swift-Tuttle plowing through the Earth’s atmosphere — and therefore part of the annual Perseids meteor shower. The astrophotographer captured the fireball as it shot across the sky in 2018 above a valley in Yichang, Hubei, China. The meteor’s streak, also caught on video, ended near the direction of Mars on the lower left. Next week, the 2021 Perseids meteor shower will peak again. This year the Moon will set shortly after the Sun, leaving a night sky ideal for seeing lots of Perseids from dark and clear locations across planet Earth.
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Tomorrow’s picture: Event Horizon Telescope strikes again
英仙流星与银河
影像提供与版权: Dandan Huang
说明: 它曳着明亮的泛绿亮闪沿着银河飞掠，而且留下一道留连30分钟才消散的痕迹。由于取像的日期是8月12日，而且光痕指离英仙座，它可能是史威福-塔托彗星彗核掉出的碎片、高速通过地球大气所致，因此它是每年复现的英仙座流星雨的流星之一。在2018年这位天文摄影者拍到这颗火流星之时，它正好掠过中国湖北省宜昌市一座山谷的上空。当时也另有影片，录下这颗光痕止于左下的火星附近的流星。2021年的英仙流星雨之极大期，将出现在下星期。在今年，月亮于日落后不久就会西沉，因此无月光干扰的长夜，也将是地球各地有黝黑清朗天空的人们，观赏众多英仙座流星出没的大好时机。