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Credit & Copyright: David A. Harvey
Explanation:
Two large telescope domes stand in the foreground of
this night sky view from
Kitt Peak National
Observatory, near Tucson, Arizona, USA.
The dramatic scene was recorded early Tuesday morning,
near the peak of December's
Geminid Meteor Shower.
With dome slit open,
the building closest to the camera houses the 2.3 Meter (90 inch)
Bok
Telescope
operated by Steward Observatory, University of Arizona.
Behind the Bok is the
Mayall 4
Meter telescope dome.
Of course, no telescopes were needed to
enjoy
the meteors streaking through the sky!
The composite image consists of 13 exposures each 15 seconds long,
taken with a wide angle lens over a period of about 2 hours
during Kitt Peak's warm, clear, night.
An annual celestial event, this meteor shower
is the result of planet Earth plowing
through dust from mysterious, asteroid-like object
3200 Phaethon.
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NASA Web Site Statements, Warnings, and Disclaimers
NASA Official: Jay Norris. Specific rights apply.
A service of: LHEA at NASA / GSFC
& Michigan Tech. U.
Based on Astronomy Picture
Of the Day
Publications with keywords: meteor shower - Geminids - KPNO
Publications with words: meteor shower - Geminids - KPNO
See also:
- APOD: 2025 August 12 Á Perseids from Perseus
- APOD: 2025 August 2 Á Fireflies, Meteors, and Milky Way
- APOD: 2025 July 25 Á Twelve Years of Kappa Cygnids
- APOD: 2024 December 15 Á Geminid Meteors over a Snowy Forest
- Phaethon s Brood
- APOD: 2024 December 10 Á The Great Meteor Storm of 1833
- Quadrantids of the North