Astronomy Picture of the Day
Discover the cosmos! Each day a different image or photograph of our fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation written by a professional astronomer.
2024 August 15
Image Credit & Copyright: P-M Hedén (Clear Skies, TWAN)
Explanation: Bright Mars and even brighter Jupiter are in close conjunction just above the pine trees in this post-midnight skyscape from Vallentuna, Sweden. Taken on August 12 during a geomagnetic storm, the snapshot records the glow of aurora borealis or northern lights, beaming from the left side of the frame. Of course on that date Perseid meteors rained through planet Earth's skies, grains of dust from the shower's parent, periodic comet Swift-Tuttle. The meteor streak at the upper right is a Perseid plowing through the atmosphere at about 60 kilometers per second. Also well-known in in Earth's night sky, the bright Pleides star cluster shines below the Perseid meteor streak. In Greek myth, the Pleiades were seven daughters of the astronomical titan Atlas and sea-nymph Pleione. The Pleiades and their parents' names are given to the cluster's nine brightest stars.
Tomorrow's picture: meteor borealis
Authors & editors: Robert Nemiroff (MTU) & Jerry Bonnell (UMCP)
NASA Official: Amber Straughn Specific rights apply.
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