Astronomy Picture of the Day

   [1]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.

                               2023 December 9
    [2]See Explanation. Clicking on the picture will download the highest
                        resolution version available.

                               Pic du Pleiades
           Image Credit & [3]Copyright: [4]Jean-Francois Graffand

   Explanation: Near dawn on November 19 [5]the Pleiades stood in still
   dark skies over the French Pyrenees. But just before sunrise a
   serendipitous moment was captured in this single 3 second exposure; a
   bright meteor streak appeared to pierce the heart of the galactic star
   cluster. [6]From the camera's perspective, star cluster and meteor were
   poised directly above the mountain top observatory on the [7]Pic du
   Midi de Bigorre. And though astronomers [8]might consider the Pleiades
   to be relatively close by, the [9]grain of dust vaporizing as it plowed
   through planet Earth's upper atmosphere actually missed the cluster's
   tight grouping of young stars by about 400 light-years. While
   [10]recording a night sky timelapse series, the camera and telephoto
   lens were fixed to a tripod on the Tour-de-France-[11]cycled slopes of
   the [12]Col du Tourmalet about 5 kilometers from the Pic du Midi.

              Tomorrow's picture: the plough over the mountain
     __________________________________________________________________

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    Authors & editors: [24]Robert Nemiroff ([25]MTU) & [26]Jerry Bonnell
                                 ([27]UMCP)
          NASA Official: Phillip Newman [28]Specific rights apply.
              [29]NASA Web Privacy Policy and Important Notices
                A service of: [30]ASD at [31]NASA / [32]GSFC,
                         [33]NASA Science Activation
                           & [34]Michigan Tech. U.

References

   1. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/archivepix.html
   2. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/image/2312/_MG_4553_rawfile.jpg
   3. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/about_apod.html#srapply
   4. https://www.facebook.com/EchoesPhotographie
   5. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap230105.html
   6. https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=1235572967363002&set=a.677558839831087
   7. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap200307.html
   8. https://www.cfa.harvard.edu/news/how-far-are-pleiades-really
   9. https://science.nasa.gov/solar-system/meteors-meteorites/geminids/
  10. http://www.echosduciel.fr/
  11. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap201002.html
  12. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Col_du_Tourmalet#Tour_de_France
  13. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap231208.html
  14. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/archivepix.html
  15. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/apsubmit2015.html
  16. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/aptree.html
  17. https://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/cgi-bin/apod/apod_search
  18. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/calendar/allyears.html
  19. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod.rss
  20. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/edlinks.html
  21. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/about_apod.html
  22. http://asterisk.apod.com/discuss_apod.php?date=231209
  23. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap231210.html
  24. http://www.phy.mtu.edu/faculty/Nemiroff.html
  25. http://www.phy.mtu.edu/
  26. https://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/htmltest/jbonnell/www/bonnell.html
  27. http://www.astro.umd.edu/
  28. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/about_apod.html#srapply
  29. https://www.nasa.gov/about/highlights/HP_Privacy.html
  30. https://astrophysics.gsfc.nasa.gov/
  31. https://www.nasa.gov/
  32. https://www.nasa.gov/centers/goddard/
  33. https://science.nasa.gov/learners
  34. http://www.mtu.edu/