Astronomy Picture of the Day

                         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.

                                2019 April 30
                                      [2]
                            Meteor Misses Galaxy
                        Image Credit: Aman Chokshi [3]

Explanation: The galaxy was never in danger. For one thing, the Triangulum
galaxy [4]  (M33), pictured, is much bigger than the tiny grain of rock [5] at
the head of the meteor. For another, the galaxy is much farther away -- in
this instance 3 million light year [6] s as opposed to only about 0.0003 light
seconds. Even so, the meteor's path [7] took it angularly below the galaxy.
Also the wind high in Earth's atmosphere [8]  blew the meteor's glowing
evaporative molecule train [9]  away from the galaxy, in angular projection
[10] . Still, the astrophotographer was quite lucky to capture both a meteor
and a galaxy [11]  in a single exposure -- which was subsequently added to two
other images of M33 to bring up the spiral galaxy [12] 's colors. At the end,
the meteor [13]  was gone in a second, but the galaxy [14]  will last billions
of years.

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                      Tomorrow's picture: X marks the cat

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    Authors & editors: Robert Nemiroff [30] (MTU [31] ) & Jerry Bonnell [32]
                                  (UMCP [33] )
          NASA Official:  Phillip Newman Specific rights apply [34] .
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              A service of: ASD [36]  at NASA [37]  / GSFC [38]
                           & Michigan Tech. U. [39]
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Site notes:
  [1] archivepix.html
  [2] image/1904/M33Meteor_Chokshi_2000.jpg
  [3] https://www.instagram.com/aman_chokshi/
  [4] ap180927.html
  [5] ap011117.html
  [6] https://starchild.gsfc.nasa.gov/docs/StarChil...
  [7] ap130209.html
  [8]
https://www.nasa.gov/sites/default/files/imag...
662995main_upper-atmosphere-MOS_full.jpg
  [9] https://www.syfy.com/syfywire/catching-meteor...
  [10]
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Forced_perspect...
File:Europe_2007_Disk_1_340.jpg
  [11] ap180812.html
  [12] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spiral_galaxy
  [13] https://www.amsmeteors.org/meteor-showers/met...
  [14] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Triangulum_Gala...
  [15] https://www.instagram.com/astronomypicturesda...
  [16] https://www.facebook.com/AstronomyPictureOfTh...
  [17] https://www.reddit.com/r/apod
  [18] http://twitter.com/apod/
  [19] ap190429.html
  [20] archivepix.html
  [21] lib/apsubmit2015.html
  [22] lib/aptree.html
  [23] https://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/cgi-bin/apod/apo...
  [24] calendar/allyears.html
  [25] /apod.rss
  [26] lib/edlinks.html
  [27] lib/about_apod.html
  [28] http://asterisk.apod.com/discuss_apod.php?dat...
  [29] ap190501.html
  [30] http://www.phy.mtu.edu/faculty/Nemiroff.html
  [31] http://www.phy.mtu.edu/
  [32] https://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/htmltest/jbonnel...
  [33] http://www.astro.umd.edu/
  [34] lib/about_apod.html#srapply
  [35] https://www.nasa.gov/about/highlights/HP_Priv...
  [36] https://astrophysics.gsfc.nasa.gov/
  [37] https://www.nasa.gov/
  [38] https://www.nasa.gov/centers/goddard/
  [39] http://www.mtu.edu/

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 * Origin: FIDONet - The Positronium Repository (1:393/68)