NASA Highlights Vaporizing Meteor Over the Lacerta Nebula
NASA's Astronomy Picture of the Day highlighted a streak of a vaporizing meteor caught on camera directly in front of the Great Lacerta Nebula.
A photograph featured on NASA's Astronomy Picture of the Day reveals a bright meteor streak passing across the Great Lacerta Nebula. The long-exposure shot was taken from Death Valley Observatories in Nevada, USA, capturing a small meteoroid as it vaporized in Earth's atmosphere.
The glow from the meteor was generated by friction heating the surrounding atmospheric gases, while the meteoroid itself disintegrated into wind-blown gas and dust. The distinct colors observed in such trails provide researchers with evidence regarding the particle's chemical composition.
The feature coincides with a period of heightened meteor activity during August. Multiple meteor showers are currently underway, leading up to the annual peak of the Perseid meteor shower in mid-August, which will take place under favorable dark-sky conditions around a new Moon.
Source attribution
- science.nasa.gov
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- science.nasa.gov: Original source
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space · astronomy · nasa · meteors · perseids
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