Media Information
 
 
 
Collection:
NASA Astronomy Picture of the Day Collection
Title:
A Perseid Aurora
Explanation:
Just after the Moon set [ http://aa.usno.navy…] but before the Sun rose [ http://antwrp.gsfc.…] in the early morning hours of August 12, meteors [ http://www.amsmeteo…] pelted the Earth from the direction of the constellation Perseus [ http://www.seds.org…], while ions [ http://ParticleAdve…] pelted the Earth from the Sun [ http://www.seds.org…]. The meteors [ http://www.seds.org…] were expected as sub-sand grains long left behind by Comet Swift-Tuttle [ http://antwrp.gsfc.…] annually create the Perseids Meteor Shower [ http://www.science.…]. The aurorae [ http://www.geo.mtu.…] were unexpected, however, as electrons [ http://www.aip.org/…], protons [ http://hyperphysics…], and heavier ions [ http://www-spof.gsf…] raced out from a large Coronal Mass Ejection [ http://science.nasa…] that had occurred [ http://antwrp.gsfc.…] just days before on the Sun. In the foreground is Hahn's Peak, an extinct volcano in Colorado [ http://www.state.co…], USA [ http://www.odci.gov…].
Credit and Copyright:
Jimmy Westlake [ mailto:jrwjr@springs ips.com ] (Colorado Mountain College [ http://www.colorado…])
keyword:
aurora
keyword:
meteor shower
keyword:
Perseids
facet_where:
Colorado
facet_where:
Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC)
facet_where:
Washington, D.C.
facet_what:
Earth
facet_what:
Moon
facet_what:
Sun
facet_what:
Aurorae
facet_what:
Swift
facet_what:
Perseus
facet_what:
Aurora
original url:
http://antwrp.gsfc.…
UID:
SPD-APOD-ap000821

A Perseid Aurora
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