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                           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.   
      
                                 2022 December 16   
      
                                    The Geminid   
                     Image Credit & Copyright: Jeff Dai (TWAN)   
      
      Explanation: Returning from beyond the Moon, on December 11 the Orion   
      spacecraft entered Earth's atmosphere at almost 11 kilometers per   
      second. That's half the speed of the grain of dust that created this   
      long fireball meteor when it entered the atmosphere on December 13,   
      near the peak of the annual Geminid meteor shower. As our fair planet   
      makes its yearly pass through the dust trail of mysterious asteroid   
      3200 Phaethon, the parallel tracks of all Geminid meteors appear to   
      radiate from a point in the constellation Gemini. But the twin stars of   
      Gemini hide just behind the trees on the left in this night skyscape   
      from the beautiful Blue Moon Valley, Yunnan, China. Reflected in the   
      still waters of the mountain lake, stars of the constellation Orion are   
      rising near center. Captured before moonrise, dazzling Mars is still   
      the brightest celestial beacon in the scene.   
      
                         Tomorrow's picture: light-weekend   
        __________________________________________________________________   
      
          Authors & editors: Robert Nemiroff (MTU) & Jerry Bonnell (UMCP)   
               NASA Official: Phillip Newman Specific rights apply.   
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                         A service of: ASD at NASA / GSFC,   
                              NASA Science Activation   
                                & Michigan Tech. U.   
      
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