APOD: Geminids and the Mittens (2022 Dec 25)

Comments and questions about the APOD on the main view screen.
Post Reply
User avatar
APOD Robot
Otto Posterman
Posts: 5344
Joined: Fri Dec 04, 2009 3:27 am
Contact:

APOD: Geminids and the Mittens (2022 Dec 25)

Post by APOD Robot » Sun Dec 25, 2022 5:09 am

Image Geminids and the Mittens

Explanation: Asteroid 3200 Phaethon's annual gift to planet Earth always arrives in December. Otherwise known as the Geminid meteor shower, the source of the meteroid stream is dust shed along the orbit of the mysterious asteroid. Near the December 13/14 peak of the shower's activity, geminid meteors are captured in this night skyscape, composited from 22 images of starry sky taken before the moon rose over Monument Valley in the American southwest. The bright stars near the position of the shower's radiant are the constellation Gemini's twin stars Castor (blue) and Pollux (yellow). As Earth sweeps through the dusty stream, the parallel meteor trails appear to radiate from a point on the sky in Gemini due to perspective, and so the yearly shower is named for the constellation. From the camera's perspective, this view of three prominent buttes across Monument Valley also suggests appropriate names for two of them. The third one is called Merrick Butte.

<< Previous APOD This Day in APOD Next APOD >>

Sa Ji Tario

Re: APOD: Geminids and the Mittens (2022 Dec 25)

Post by Sa Ji Tario » Sun Dec 25, 2022 2:08 pm

I hope you had a good night and woke up to a Merry Christmas!!

De58te
Commander
Posts: 583
Joined: Mon Sep 30, 2013 6:35 pm

Re: APOD: Geminids and the Mittens (2022 Dec 25)

Post by De58te » Sun Dec 25, 2022 3:23 pm

The Merrick and the Mitten Buttes are sure the most beautiful buttes I ever did see. They sure are beautes! Also the 'Jim'inids are sure Jim-dandy looking meteor showers themselves. Merry Christmas.

User avatar
orin stepanek
Plutopian
Posts: 8200
Joined: Wed Jul 27, 2005 3:41 pm
Location: Nebraska

Re: APOD: Geminids and the Mittens (2022 Dec 25)

Post by orin stepanek » Sun Dec 25, 2022 4:37 pm

J7A6402-Edit-copy-sharpened1024.jpg
Geminids over Mittens
2018_12_14_Geminidy_Chata-met_cut_1024px.jpg
Cool!
Hope you have a great Holiday! Don't eat too much! :D
Orin

Smile today; tomorrow's another day!

User avatar
johnnydeep
Commodore
Posts: 2777
Joined: Sun Feb 20, 2011 8:57 pm

Re: APOD: Geminids and the Mittens (2022 Dec 25)

Post by johnnydeep » Sun Dec 25, 2022 7:28 pm

Yes, "Mittens" with very spindly thumbs! More like the heads of two simumltaneously breaching sperm whales is what comes to mind first for me.

--
"To B̬̻̋̚o̞̮̚̚l̘̲̀᷾d̫͓᷅ͩḷ̯᷁ͮȳ͙᷊͠ Go......Beyond The F͇̤i̙̖e̤̟l̡͓d͈̹s̙͚ We Know."{ʲₒʰₙNYᵈₑᵉₚ}

User avatar
Cousin Ricky
Science Officer
Posts: 445
Joined: Mon Aug 26, 2013 4:08 pm
Location: St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands (+18.3, -64.9)

Re: APOD: Geminids and the Mittens (2022 Dec 25)

Post by Cousin Ricky » Mon Dec 26, 2022 4:48 am

It’s happened again.

Someone, somewhere posted a mnemonic for me to remember which star is Pollux and which star is Castor. As always, I have forgotten the mnemonic, and do not remember which star is which. I just read the damn description, and in the few seconds since, I have completely forgotten which star is blue and which star is yellow!

Post Reply