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.

                              2025 December 18
    [2]See Explanation. Clicking on the picture will download the highest
                        resolution version available.

                     Jupiter and the Meteors from Gemini
                 Image Credit & [3]Copyright: [4]David Cruz

   Explanation: [5]Jupiter, the Solar System's ruling gas giant, is the
   brightest celestial beacon at the center of this [6]composite night
   skyscape. The scene was constructed by selecting the 40 exposures
   containing meteors from about 500 exposures made on the nights of
   December 13 and 14, near peak activity for this year's annual
   [7]Geminid meteor shower. With each selected exposure registered in the
   night sky above Alentejo, Portugal, planet Earth, it does look like the
   [8]meteors are streaming away from Jupiter. But the apparent radiant of
   the Geminid meteors is actually closer to bright star Castor, in the
   shower's eponymous constellation Gemini. In this frame that's just a
   little above and left of the Solar System's most massive planet. Still,
   the [9]parent body of Geminid meteors is known to be rocky,
   [10]near-Earth asteroid [11]3200 Phaethon. And the orbit of
   [12]Phaethon itself is influenced by the gravitational attraction
   exerted by massive Jupiter, [13]in concert with planets of the inner
   Solar System.

                 Tomorrow's picture: cathedrals on the moon
     __________________________________________________________________

      [14]< | [15]Archive | [16]Submissions | [17]Index | [18]Search |
   [19]Calendar | [20]RSS | [21]Education | [22]About APOD | [23]Discuss |
                                    [24]>
     __________________________________________________________________

    Authors & editors: [25]Robert Nemiroff ([26]MTU) & [27]Jerry Bonnell
                                 ([28]UMCP)
          NASA Official: Amber Straughn [29]Specific rights apply.
            [30]NASA Web Privacy, [31]Accessibility, [32]Notices;
                A service of: [33]ASD at [34]NASA / [35]GSFC,
                         [36]NASA Science Activation
                           & [37]Michigan Tech. U.

References

   1. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/archivepix.html
   2. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/image/2512/GeminidsJupiterCruz.jpg
   3. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/about_apod.html#srapply
   4. https://www.instagram.com/astro.midnight/
   5. https://science.nasa.gov/jupiter/
   6. https://www.instagram.com/astro.midnight/p/DSU2kD8ilU3/
   7. https://earthsky.org/astronomy-essentials/everything-you-need-to-know-geminid-meteor-shower/
   8. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap251215.html
   9. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap241212.html
  10. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DESTINY+
  11. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/3200_Phaethon
  12. https://www.nasa.gov/solar-system/asteroids-comet-like-tail-is-not-made-of-dust-solar-observatories-reveal/
  13. https://ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2019SoSyR..53..215G/abstract
  14. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap251217.html
  15. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/archivepix.html
  16. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/apsubmit2015.html
  17. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/aptree.html
  18. https://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/cgi-bin/apod/apod_search
  19. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/calendar/allyears.html
  20. https://apod.com/feed.rss
  21. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/edlinks.html
  22. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/about_apod.html
  23. https://asterisk.apod.com/discuss_apod.php?date=251218
  24. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap251219.html
  25. http://www.phy.mtu.edu/faculty/Nemiroff.html
  26. http://www.phy.mtu.edu/
  27. https://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/htmltest/jbonnell/www/bonnell.html
  28. http://www.astro.umd.edu/
  29. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/about_apod.html#srapply
  30. https://www.nasa.gov/about/highlights/HP_Privacy.html
  31. https://www.nasa.gov/general/accessibility/
  32. https://www.nasa.gov/privacy/
  33. https://astrophysics.gsfc.nasa.gov/
  34. https://www.nasa.gov/
  35. https://www.nasa.gov/centers/goddard/
  36. https://science.nasa.gov/learners
  37. http://www.mtu.edu/