[ASTRONOMIA] a Rainbow Geminid Meteor

https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/image/181..._Rowe_2048.jpg

image credit & copyright: Dean Rowe



meteors can be colorful

while the human eye usually cannot discern many colors, cameras often can

pictured is a Geminid captured by camera during last december's meteor shower that was not only impressively bright, but colorful

the radiant grit cast off by asteroid 3200 Phaethon blazed a path across Earth's atmosphere longer than 60 times the angular diameter of the Moon

colors in meteors usually originate from ionized elements released as the meteor disintegrates, with blue-green typically originating from magnesium, calcium radiating violet, and nickel glowing green

red, however, typically originates from energized nitrogen and oxygen in the Earth's atmosphere

this bright meteoric fireball was gone in a flash -- less than a second -- but it left a wind-blown ionization trail that remained visible for several minutes

































in apod.nasa.gov/apod