Astronomy Picture of the Day

   [1]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.

                               2019 August 15
    [2]See Explanation. Clicking on the picture will download the highest
                        resolution version available.

                         The Perseids and the Plough
             Image Credit & [3]Copyright: [4]Jeff Dai ([5]TWAN)

   Explanation: Despite interfering moonlight, many denizens of planet
   Earth were able to watch this year's [6]Perseid meteor shower. This
   pastoral scene includes local skygazers admiring the shower's brief,
   heavenly flashes in predawn hours near peak activity on August 13 from
   Nalati Grassland in Xinjiang, China. A composite, the image registers
   seven frames taken during a two hour span recording Perseid meteor
   streaks against a starry sky. Centered along the horizon is [7]the
   Plough, the north's most famous asterism, though some might see the
   familiar celestial kitchen utensil known as the Big Dipper. Perhaps the
   year's most [8]easily enjoyed meteor shower, Perseid meteors are
   produced as Earth itself [9]sweeps through dust from periodic comet
   Swift-Tuttle. The dust particles are vaporized at altitudes of 100
   kilometers or so as they plow through the atmosphere at 60 kilometers
   per second.

                      Tomorrow's picture: just so story
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    Authors & editors: [21]Robert Nemiroff ([22]MTU) & [23]Jerry Bonnell
                                 ([24]UMCP)
          NASA Official: Phillip Newman [25]Specific rights apply.
              [26]NASA Web Privacy Policy and Important Notices
                A service of: [27]ASD at [28]NASA / [29]GSFC
                           & [30]Michigan Tech. U.

References

   1. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/archivepix.html
   2. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/image/1908/PerseidsPloughCow.jpg
   3. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/about_apod.html#srapply
   4. http://www.twanight.org/Dai
   5. http://www.twanight.org/
   6. https://solarsystem.nasa.gov/asteroids-comets-and-meteors/meteors-and-meteorites/perseids/in-depth/
   7. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap110624.html
   8. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap180908.html
   9. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap180808.html
  10. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap190814.html
  11. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/archivepix.html
  12. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/apsubmit2015.html
  13. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/aptree.html
  14. https://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/cgi-bin/apod/apod_search
  15. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/calendar/allyears.html
  16. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod.rss
  17. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/edlinks.html
  18. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/about_apod.html
  19. http://asterisk.apod.com/discuss_apod.php?date=190815
  20. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap190816.html
  21. http://www.phy.mtu.edu/faculty/Nemiroff.html
  22. http://www.phy.mtu.edu/
  23. https://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/htmltest/jbonnell/www/bonnell.html
  24. http://www.astro.umd.edu/
  25. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/about_apod.html#srapply
  26. https://www.nasa.gov/about/highlights/HP_Privacy.html
  27. https://astrophysics.gsfc.nasa.gov/
  28. https://www.nasa.gov/
  29. https://www.nasa.gov/centers/goddard/
  30. http://www.mtu.edu/