英仙座流星雨

2023年8月9日

Meteor Shower: Perseids from Perseus
Credit & Copyright: Petr Horálek / Institute of Physics in Opava

Explanation: This is a good week to see meteors. Comet dust will rain down on planet Earth, streaking through dark skies during peak nights of the annual Perseid Meteor Shower. The featured composite image was taken during the 2018 Perseids from the Poloniny Dark Sky Park in Slovakia. The dome of the observatory in the foreground is on the grounds of Kolonica Observatory. Although the comet dust particles travel parallel to each other, the resulting shower meteors clearly seem to radiate from a single point on the sky in the eponymous constellation Perseus. The radiant effect is due to perspective, as the parallel tracks appear to converge at a distance, like train tracks. The Perseid Meteor Shower is expected to reach its highest peak on Saturday after midnight. Since a crescent Moon will rise only very late that night, cloudless skies will be darker than usual, making a high number of faint meteors potentially visible this year.

Tomorrow’s picture: 5 meters

英仙座流星雨
影像提供与版权: Petr Horálek / Institute of Physics in Opava

说明: 这星期是观赏流星的好时机。因为年年复现的英仙座流星雨之极大期就落在这星期，届时来自彗星的尘埃将洒落地球，曳着滑过幽暗长空的光痕。这幅组合主题影像，是在2018年摄于斯洛伐克的波隆尼暗空公园，前景则是隶属于柯罗尼卡天文台的望远镜。虽然彗星的尘埃微粒彼此平行运动，但它们所形成的流星看似皆源自同名的英仙座天空之辐射点。这是因为透视所产生的辐散效应，让原来像火车轨道的平行轨迹，看似会聚在远方。今年的英仙座流星雨的极大期，预期将落在星期六的子夜过后。由于当晚的蛾眉残月会较晚升起，万里无云的天空将比平时更幽暗，因此今年有机会看到大量昏暗的流星。

明日的图片: 5 meters