Picture of the day
Bright Perseids streak over Sweden
NASA’s Astronomy Picture of the Day turns its attention to the annual Perseid meteor shower.
Orbit Daily does not reproduce the image here. Follow the source link below to see the credited photograph and NASA’s complete explanation.
The Perseids return each year as Earth crosses debris left along the orbit of comet 109P/Swift-Tuttle. Small particles enter the atmosphere at high speed, heating the air around them and producing the bright paths commonly called shooting stars. The meteors appear to radiate from Perseus, but they can cross any part of the sky.
Conditions in 2026 were especially favourable because the peak occurred with little moonlight. Forecasts placed the strongest activity around the night of 12 August into the following morning, although useful observations extended beyond that single window. Dark skies, patience and an unobstructed view mattered more than telescopes.
The APOD photograph is also a reminder that a meteor image is constructed across time. A camera can accumulate several trails that no unaided observer sees simultaneously. NASA’s source page preserves the photographer’s credit and technical explanation, which is why Orbit Daily links to the original rather than detaching the image from its context.
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