NASA releases meteor shower caused by Halley’s Comet

NASA releases meteor shower caused by Halley's Comet
NASA releases meteor shower caused by Halley’s Comet (David Cortner // NASA – APOD)

In the “Astronomy Picture of the Day” for this Thursday (26), NASA has chosen to unveil a beautiful shot of the meteor shower caused by the first known periodic comet in history, Halley’s Comet.

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The ‘Halley’s Comet‘ (1P/Halley) visits the Solar System every 76 years, with its last visible appearance to the naked eye occurring in 1986. The next sighting of the famous comet is expected only in 2062.

However, even when it’s absent, the remnants of dust and debris from the comet continue to produce meteor showers twice a year, during the Eta Aquarids in May and the Orionids in October.

In the image, you can see two meteors shining and streaking through the sky at approximately 66 kilometers per second. As a backdrop to this spectacle left by Halley, there’s the Taurus Molecular Cloud and the iconic Pleiades star cluster to the right, adding even more beauty to this cosmic snapshot.

NASA releases meteor shower caused by Halley's Comet (David Cortner // NASA - APOD)
NASA releases meteor shower caused by Halley’s Comet (David Cortner // NASA – APOD)
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