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   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.   
      
                                 2023 December 17   
        Two people are pictured from the back looking at a dark star-filled   
        sky. The sky is also filled with numerous streaks caused by meteors   
       from the Geminids meteor shower. Please see the explanation for more   
                               detailed information.   
      
                         Geminids over China's Nianhu Lake   
                      Image Credit & Copyright: Hongyang Luo   
      
      Explanation: Where are all of these meteors coming from? In terms of   
      direction on the sky, the pointed answer is the constellation of   
      Gemini. That is why the major meteor shower in December is known as the   
      Geminids -- because shower meteors all appear to come from a radiant   
      toward Gemini. Three dimensionally, however, sand-sized debris expelled   
      from the unusual asteroid 3200 Phaethon follows a well-defined orbit   
      about our Sun, and the part of the orbit that approaches Earth is   
      superposed in front of the constellation of Gemini. Therefore, when   
      Earth crosses this orbit, the radiant point of falling debris appears   
      in Gemini. Featured here is a composite of many images taken a few days   
      ago through dark skies from Nianhu Lake in China. Over 100 bright   
      meteor streaks from the Geminids meteor shower are visible.   
      
            APOD Year in Review (2023): RJN's Night Sky Network Lecture   
                        Tomorrow's picture: the same color   
        __________________________________________________________________   
      
          Authors & editors: Robert Nemiroff (MTU) & Jerry Bonnell (UMCP)   
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                                & Michigan Tech. U.   
      
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