                 APOD: 2017 August 10 - Night of the Perseids

                         Astronomy Picture of the Day

    Discover the cosmos! [1] Each day a different image or photograph of our
 fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation written by a
                           professional astronomer.

                                2017 August 10
                                      [2]
                            Night of the Perseids
                Image Credit & Copyright [3] : Petr Horalek [4]

Explanation: This weekend, meteors [5]  will rain down near the peak of the
annual Perseid Meteor Shower. Normally bright and colorful, the Perseid shower
meteors are produced by dust swept up by planet Earth from the orbit of Comet
Swift-Tuttle. They streak [6] from a radiant in Perseus, above the horizon in
clear predawn skies. Despite interfering light from August's waning gibbous
moon, this year's Perseids [7] will still be enjoyable, especially if you can
find yourself in an open space, away from city lights, and in good company.
Frames used in this composite [8]  view capture bright Perseid meteors from
the 2016 meteor shower set against a starry background along the Milky Way,
with even the faint Andromeda Galaxy [9]  just above center. In the
foreground, astronomers of all ages have gathered on a hill above the
Slovakian village of Vrchtepla [10] .

                  Tomorrow's picture: day of the gnomons [11]

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    Authors & editors: Robert Nemiroff [23] (MTU [24] ) & Jerry Bonnell [25]
                                  (UMCP [26] )
          NASA Official:  Phillip Newman Specific rights apply [27] .
              NASA Web Privacy Policy and Important Notices [28]
              A service of: ASD [29]  at NASA [30]  / GSFC [31]
                           & Michigan Tech. U. [32]
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Site notes:
  [1] archivepix.html
  [2] image/1708/2016_08_06_Perseids_1310pxHoralek.jpg
  [3] lib/about_apod.html#srapply
  [4] http://www.astronom.cz/horalek/?page_id=20
  [5] https://blogs.nasa.gov/Watch_the_Skies/2017/08/
  [6] https://spaceplace.nasa.gov/meteor-shower/en/
  [7] http://earthsky.org/?p=2087
  [8] ap160818.html
  [9] ap160817.html
  [10] http://www.astronom.cz/horalek/?p=3234
  [11] ap170811.html
  [12] ap170809.html
  [13] archivepix.html
  [14] lib/apsubmit2015.html
  [15] lib/aptree.html
  [16] http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/cgi-bin/apod/apod_search
  [17] calendar/allyears.html
  [18] /apod.rss
  [19] lib/edlinks.html
  [20] lib/about_apod.html
  [21] http://asterisk.apod.com/discuss_apod.php?date=170810
  [22] ap170811.html
  [23] http://www.phy.mtu.edu/faculty/Nemiroff.html
  [24] http://www.phy.mtu.edu/
  [25] http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/htmltest/jbonnell/www/bonnell.html
  [26] http://www.astro.umd.edu/
  [27] lib/about_apod.html#srapply
  [28] http://www.nasa.gov/about/highlights/HP_Privacy.html
  [29] http://astrophysics.gsfc.nasa.gov/
  [30] http://www.nasa.gov/
  [31] http://www.nasa.gov/centers/goddard/
  [32] http://www.mtu.edu/
