Subj : Daily APOD Report
To   : All
From : Alan Ianson
Date : Mon Dec 20 2021 00:40:10

                        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.

                              2021 December 20

                         The Comet and the Fireball
                    Image Credit & Copyright: Cory Poole

   Explanation: This picture was supposed to feature a comet.
   Specifically, a series of images of the brightest comet of 2021 were
   being captured: Comet Leonard. But the universe had other plans. Within
   a fraction of a second, a meteor so bright it could be called a
   fireball streaked through just below the comet. And the meteor's flash
   was even more green than the comet's coma. The cause of the meteor's
   green was likely magnesium evaporating from the meteor's pebble-sized
   core, while the cause of the comet's green was likely diatomic carbon
   recently ejected from the comet's city-sized nucleus. The images were
   taken 10 days ago over the Sacramento River and Mt. Lassen in
   California, USA. The fireball was on the leading edge of this year's
   Geminid Meteor Shower -- which peaked a few days later. Comet Leonard
   is now fading after reaching naked-eye visibility last week -- but now
   is moving into southern skies.

                  Almost Hyperspace: Random APOD Generator
                    Tomorrow's picture: a solar milky way
     __________________________________________________________________

       Authors & editors: Robert Nemiroff (MTU) & Jerry Bonnell (UMCP)
            NASA Official: Phillip Newman Specific rights apply.
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                             & Michigan Tech. U.

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