                        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.

                              2021 December 13

                      Meteors and Auroras over Iceland
     Image Credit & Copyright: James Boardman-Woodend; Annotation: Judy
                                   Schmidt

   Explanation: What's going on behind that mountain? Quite a bit. First
   of all, the mountain itself, named Kirkjufell, is quite old and located
   in western Iceland near the town of Grundarfjörður. In front of the
   steeply-sloped structure lies a fjord that had just begun to freeze
   when the above image was taken -- in mid-December of 2012. Although
   quite faint to the unaided eye, the beautiful colors of background
   aurorae became quite apparent on the 25-second exposure. What makes
   this image of particular note, though, is that it also captures streaks
   from the Geminids meteor shower -- meteors that might not have been
   evident were the aurora much brighter. Far in the distance, on the
   left, is the band of our Milky Way Galaxy, while stars from our local
   part of the Milky Way appear spread across the background. Tonight the
   Geminids meteor shower peaks again and may well provide sky enthusiasts
   with their own memorable visual experiences.

                       Tomorrow's picture: hidden jet
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