盱眙观测站与火流星

2024年12月6日

Xuyi Station and the Fireball
Image Credit & Copyright: Hao Liu (Stanford University)

Explanation: Colorful and bright, this streaking fireball meteor was captured in a single exposure taken at Purple Mountain (Tsuchinshan) Observatory’s Xuyi Station in 2020, during planet Earth’s annual Perseid meteor shower. The dome in the foreground houses the China Near Earth Object Survey Telescope (CNEOST), the largest multi-purpose Schmidt telescope in China. Located in Xuyi County, Jiangsu Province, the station began its operation as an extension of China’s Purple Mountain Observatory in 2006. Darling of planet Earth’s night skies in 2024, the bright comet designated Tsuchinshan-ATLAS (C/2023 A3) was discovered in images taken there on 2023 January 9. The discovery is jointly credited to NASA’s ATLAS robotic survey telescope at Sutherland Observatory, South Africa. Other comet discoveries associated with the historic Purple Mountain Observatory and bearing the observatory’s transliterated Mandarin name include periodic comets 60/P Tsuchinshan and 62/P Tsuchinshan.

Tomorrow’s picture: warm and cozy

盱眙观测站与火流星
影像提供与版权: Hao Liu (Stanford University)

说明: 这颗明亮多彩火流星的单曝光影像，是在2020年地球的英仙流星雨期间，摄于紫金山天文台的盱眙观测站。影像前景的圆顶建筑里，安置着中国近地小天体巡天望远镜（CNEOST），这部中国最大的多用途施密特望远镜。盱眙站位于江苏省的盱眙县，2006年起成为紫金山天文台的外延站开始营运。2024年夜空的宠儿紫金山-阿特拉斯彗星（Tsuchinshan-ATLAS (C/2023 A3)），即是在2023年1月9日发现于盱眙站拍摄的影像里。这颗彗星的共同发现者，为美国国家航空航天局位于南非Sutherland天文台的ATLAS自动巡天望远镜。其他紫金山天文台参与的彗星发现，还包括周期彗星60/P紫金山及和62/P紫金山，是以它们都用这座历史悠久天文台的汉语拼音来命名。

明日的图片: warm and cozy