英仙座流星雨与北斗七星

2019 August 15

The Perseids and the Plough
Image Credit & Copyright: Jeff Dai (TWAN)

Explanation: Despite interfering moonlight, many denizens of planet Earth were able to watch this year’s 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 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 easily enjoyed meteor shower, Perseid meteors are produced as Earth itself 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.

英仙座流星雨与北斗七星
影像来源及版权: Jeff Dai (TWAN)

说明：尽管受到月光的干扰，但地球上的许多居民还是能够观赏到今年的英仙座流星雨。这幅田园美景图是8月13日在新疆那拉提草原上拍摄的，它呈现了当地天文观测者在黎明前数小时、临近活跃峰值时期观赏到的短暂流星雨闪光。七张照片合成的这幅影像记录了两小时内划过星空的英仙座流星。以地平线为中心的天体是北方最著名的星群-北斗七星，尽管有些人可能会看到熟悉的天体厨房用具-一把勺子。英仙座流星雨可能是今年最容易观赏到的流星雨，它是地球自身在经过斯威夫特-塔特尔周期彗星释放的尘埃时产生的天象。这些尘埃颗粒以每秒60公里的速度穿过大气层，并在距离地面100千米的地方气化。