Earthbound Meteor & The Andromeda Galaxy

Earthbound Meteor and The Andromeda Galaxy

"It came from outer space." It—in this case a sand-sized bit of a comet nucleus—was likely ejected many years ago from Sun-orbiting Comet Swift-Tuttle, but then continued to orbit the Sun alone. When the Earth crossed through this orbit, the piece of comet debris impacted the atmosphere of our fair planet and was seen as a meteor. This meteor deteriorated, causing gases to be emitted that glowed in colors emitted by its component elements. 

This image was taken from Castilla La Mancha, Spain, during the peak night of this year's Perseids meteor shower. The picturesque meteor streak happened to appear in the only one of 50 frames that also included the Andromeda galaxy. Stars dot the frame, each much further away than the meteor. Compared to the stars, the Andromeda galaxy (M31) is, again, much further away.

The Andromeda Galaxy is a barred spiral galaxy and is the nearest major galaxy to the Milky Way, where the Solar System resides. It was originally named the Andromeda Nebula and is cataloged as Messier 31, M31, and NGC 224. 

The galaxy's name stems from the area of Earth's sky in which it appears, the constellation of Andromeda, which itself is named after the princess who was the wife of Perseus in Greek mythology.

Distance: 2.5 million light years

Image Credit & Copyright: Jose Pedrero

Jose's Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/josepedrero.jpart/

Release Date: Aug. 23, 2023

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