Astronomy Picture of the Day—20190116

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.

2019 January 16

Meteorand Milky Way over the Alps

ImageCredit & Copyright: Nicholas Roemmelt (Venture Photography)

Explanation:Now this was a view with a thrill. From Mount Tschirgant in the Alps, you cansee not only nearby towns and distant Tyrolean peaks, but also, weatherpermitting, stars, nebulas, and the band of the Milky Way Galaxy. What made thearduous climb worthwhile this night, though, was another peak -- the peak ofthe 2018 Perseids Meteor Shower. As hoped, dispersing clouds allowed apicturesque sky-gazing session that included many faint meteors, all while acarefully positioned camera took a series of exposures. Suddenly, a thrillingmeteor -- bright and colorful -- slashed down right next the nearly verticalband of the Milky Way. As luck would have it, the camera caught it too.Therefore, a new image in the series was quickly taken with one of thesky-gazers posing on the nearby peak. Later, all of the images were digitallycombined.