Astronomy Picture of the Day

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 kilometres, the Perseid meteors streak below, swept up dust from comet Swift-Tuttle. The vapourizing comet dust grains are traveling at about 60 kilometres per second through the denser atmosphere around 100 kilometres above Earth's surface. In this case, the foreshortened meteor flash is near frame centre, 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.