Posted on 08/09/2024 12:51:50 PM PDT by MtnClimber
Explanation: Denizens of planet Earth typically watch meteor showers by looking up. But this remarkable view, captured on August 13, 2011 by astronaut Ron Garan, caught a Perseid meteor by looking down. From Garan's perspective on board the International Space Station orbiting at an altitude of about 380 kilometers, the Perseid meteors streak below, swept up dust from comet Swift-Tuttle. The vaporizing comet dust grains are traveling at about 60 kilometers per second through the denser atmosphere around 100 kilometers above Earth's surface. In this case, the foreshortened meteor flash is near frame center, below the curving limb of the Earth and a layer of greenish airglow, just below bright star Arcturus. Want to look up at a meteor shower? You're in luck, as the 2024 Perseid meteor shower is active now and predicted to peak near August 12. With interfering bright moonlight absent, this year you'll likely see many Perseid meteors under clear, dark skies after midnight.
For more detail go to the link and click on the image for a high definition image. You can then move the magnifying glass cursor then click to zoom in and click again to zoom out. When zoomed in you can scan by moving the side bars on the bottom and right side of the image.
I know that due to the vast expanse of space the odds of the space station or other manned space craft being hit by a meteor is extremely low.
But it would make me nervous to be in one of those tin cans just the same.
Thank you! Unfortunately for me I will be sleeping whenever the meteor shower viewing is good.
But I do appreciate the link, so don’t get me wrong. :)
I did not see one meteor, but early Tuesday morning, I got to see Jupiter and Mars close together, and I also saw Saturn.
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