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Astronomy Picture of the Day 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. 2002 August 9 Fireworks and Shooting Stars Credit & Copyright: Jim Steele Explanation: Experimenting with a new telescope and camera, photographer Jim Steele captured this surreal but festive image of fireworks in the night sky above Ashland, Oregon. The date was July 4th and the fiery streaks were part of the traditional annual celebration of independence day in the United States. Fiery streaks from another annual event will...

Good view in 2002 In 2002, Earth is expected to encounter the core of the Perseid swarm, where meteoroid concentration is densest, on Monday, Aug. 12. This is when the Perseids put on their best show as the meteors appear to diverge from a patch of sky near the Double Cluster in Perseus. This is actually an illusion of perspective, since that is the direction toward which the Earth’s orbital motion carries us at this time of the year. At the same time, the meteoroids are traveling on parallel paths nearly perpendicular to the Earth’s orbit. The combined speeds of...

Good view in 2002 In 2002, Earth is expected to encounter the core of the Perseid swarm, where meteoroid concentration is densest, on Monday, Aug. 12. This is when the Perseids put on their best show as the meteors appear to diverge from a patch of sky near the Double Cluster in Perseus. This is actually an illusion of perspective, since that is the direction toward which the Earth’s orbital motion carries us at this time of the year. At the same time, the meteoroids are traveling on parallel paths nearly perpendicular to the Earth’s orbit. The combined speeds of...