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.
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. Explanation:The sky glowswith soft pinkish colors of fading twilight in this serendipitous mountaintop vista. Taken in subfreezing temperatures, thethoughtfully composed photoshows snowy, rugged peaks seen from a mountain pass on 2017 November 14. Below lies the village ofLa Villa, Alta BadiainItaly'sDolomite Alps. Above the nestled village lights, theconstellation Ursa Majorhangs over the northern horizon. But moststunningis the intensefireballmeteor. It wascapturedduring the camera's exposure by chance as it flashed east to west across the northern horizon, under Ursa Major's familiarBig Dipperasterism. Sightings ofthis major fireball meteorwere widely reported in European skies, making it one of the most reported fireball events ever for planet Earth'sAmerican Meteor Societyand theInternational Meteor Organization. The meteor's measured track overGermanyis consistent with its origin near the activeradiantof November's NorthernTaurid Meteor Shower, a shower associated with dust fromEncke's comet.Tomorrow's picture:witch sky?