Online Astronomy eText: Asteroids, Comets, and Interplanetary Debris
Animation of The Perseid Meteor Shower of 2005 (also see Meteors, Meteoroids, and Meteorites)
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A time-lapse animation showing Perseid meteors against the background of the Milky Way, during a 3-hour period on August 12/13, 2005 (UT). The view is toward a region about 90 degrees to the west of Perseus, near Cepheus and the Summer Triangle (Vega in Lyra, Deneb in Cygnus, and Altair in Aquila), so that meteoroids are seen sideways relative to their line of movement, producing longer meteor trails than are usually seen in other directions. Seven of the eight meteors in this series of exposures are streaming away from the region of Perseus, and were caused by meteoroids associated with periodic comet 109P/Swift-Tuttle; the other meteor is moving in a different direction, and is a sporadic meteor. (Stephan Seip, apod050815) Note: To reduce the time required to load this file, most of the layers and frames in the original have been discarded; and the remaining frames have been enhanced in contrast and brightness, for classroom viewing.
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