MSGID: 1:153/757.0 e03618c2   
   TZUTC: -0800   
   CHRS: LATIN-1 2   
                           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.   
      
                                  2026 January 12   
       A view of mountains over clouds shows a starfield with a purple glow.   
      Prominent on the right is the trail of a bright meteor. To the left of   
       the meteor and connecting to the meteor is something unusual: a light   
        brown triangular puff. Please see the explanation for more detailed   
                                   information.   
      
                                    Meteor Dust   
                         Image Credit & Copyright: Xu Chen   
      
      Explanation: What's happening to this meteor? It is shedding its outer   
      layers as it passes through the Earth's atmosphere and heats up. The   
      sudden high temperatures not only cause the bright glow along the   
      dramatic streak but also melt and vaporize the meteor's component rock   
      and ice, creating dust. Wind in the atmosphere typically blows this   
      dust away over the next few seconds, leaving no visible trace after   
      only a few minutes. Much of this dust will eventually settle down to   
      the Earth. The featured image was captured in mid-December, coincident   
      with the Geminids meteor shower. On the upper left is Sirius, the   
      brightest star in the night sky, while in the foreground is   
      fog-engulfed Huangshan, the Yellow Mountains of eastern China.   
      
                     Tomorrow's picture: launched from the Sun   
        __________________________________________________________________   
      
          Authors & editors: Robert Nemiroff (MTU) & Jerry Bonnell (UMCP)   
               NASA Official: Amber Straughn Specific rights apply.   
                     NASA Web Privacy, Accessibility, Notices;   
                         A service of: ASD at NASA / GSFC,   
                              NASA Science Activation   
                                & Michigan Tech. U.   
      
   --- BBBS/Li6 v4.10 Toy-7   
    * Origin: The Rusty MailBox - Penticton, BC Canada (1:153/757)   
   SEEN-BY: 19/10 105/81 106/201 128/187 129/14 305 134/100 153/135 143   
   SEEN-BY: 153/148 151 757 6809 7083 7715 154/110 218/700 840 221/1   
   SEEN-BY: 221/6 360 226/30 227/114 229/110 112 134 206 307 317 400   
   SEEN-BY: 229/426 428 470 664 700 705 240/1120 266/512 291/111 301/1   
   SEEN-BY: 301/113 812 320/219 322/757 335/364 341/66 342/200 396/45   
   SEEN-BY: 460/58 256 1124 633/280 712/848 902/26 5020/400 1042 8912   
   SEEN-BY: 5054/30 5075/35   
   PATH: 153/757 221/6 301/1 460/58 229/426