Perseid Fireball Over Japan
Explanation:
Enjoying the
bright Moon's absence
from early morning skies, observers around the world
reported lovely displays during this year's
Perseid meteor shower.
As anticipated, peak rates were about one meteor per minute.
Though most Perseids were faint, this bright and colorful
fireball meteor flashed through
skies over Japan
on August 12 at about 0317 JST.
Ending at the upper right, the meteor's trail points
down and to the left, back to the shower's
radiant
point between the constellations
of Perseus and Cassiopeia,
seen here
just above the tower structure in the foreground.
The Pleiades star cluster is also visible well below
the meteor's trail.
Perseid
shower meteors can be traced to
particles of dust
from the tail of comet Swift-Tuttle impacting the atmosphere
at speeds of around 60 kilometers per second.
While this annual shower's peak has come and gone,
Perseid
meteors should still be visible over the next few nights, but at
a greatly reduced rate.
Authors & editors:
Robert Nemiroff
(MTU) &
Jerry Bonnell
(USRA)
NASA Web Site Statements, Warnings,
and Disclaimers
NASA Official: Jay Norris.
Specific
rights apply.
A service of:
LHEA at
NASA /
GSFC
& Michigan Tech. U.
