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APOD: 2026 August 19 – The…
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Astronomy Picture of the Day
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.
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Juan Pablo Castañeda
The Case of the Mysterious Maybe Meteor
Explanation: Whatdunit? What disappeared while crossing a partially eclipsed Sun? Let’s present the evidence. The 24 frames-per-second video was taken in Spain (40°34’30.3″N 1°12’28.8″W) at 20:28 local time on August 12, 2026. The Perseids meteor shower was at its peak during this time. Is this a meteor? Meteor showers trace back to a region of the sky called a radiant point that corresponds to where the Earth is crossing a comet’s path. The object’s path might trace back to the Perseids’ radiant point in the Perseus constellation. The object trails a smaller angle on the sky than the 0.5 degree Sun and Moon, which is smaller than expected for a meteor. Its brightness does not extend much past the Sun, but a meteor burning up in the sky would not need sunlight to be seen. Perhaps the sunlight is reflecting off of the object? After cross-referencing the location, time, and point in the sky with a flight database, the culprit is found to be an airplane contrail!
Tomorrow’s picture: another mystery
Date:
August 19, 2026
Credit & Copyright:
Juan Pablo Castañeda
Authors & editors:
Keighley Rockcliffe, Robert Nemiroff, Jerry Bonnell, Cecilia Chirenti
Hat tip:
William Cooke, David Lee, Peter Brown, Denis Vida, Peter Jenniskens
A service of:
ASD at NASA / GSFC,NASA Science Activation & Michigan Tech. U.
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