冰岛上空的流星和极光
Meteors and Auroras over Iceland
Image Credit & Copyright: James Boardman-Woodend; Annotation: Judy Schmidt
Explanation: What’s going on behind that mountain? Quite a bit. First of all, the mountain itself, named Kirkjufell, is quite old and located in western Iceland near the town of Grundarfjörður. In front of the steeply-sloped structure lies a fjord that had just begun to freeze when the above image was taken — in mid-December of 2012. Although quite faint to the unaided eye, the beautiful colors of background aurorae became quite apparent on the 25-second exposure. What makes this image of particular note, though, is that it also captures streaks from the Geminids meteor shower — meteors that might not have been evident were the aurora much brighter. Far in the distance, on the left, is the band of our Milky Way Galaxy, while stars from our local part of the Milky Way appear spread across the background. Tonight the Geminids meteor shower peaks again and may well provide sky enthusiasts with their own memorable visual experiences.
Tomorrow’s picture: hidden jet
冰岛上空的流星和极光
影像提供与版权: James Boardman-Woodend; 加注: Judy Schmidt
说明: 那座火山后方发生了什么事？很多。首先，Kirkjufell火山是座位在冰岛西侧 Grundarfjörður镇附近的老火山。它陡峭的山体前方有个峡湾，2012年12月中拍照时，它刚开始结冰。虽然在肉眼里，背景的极光极为暗淡，然而在这幅25秒长曝光影像里，极光变得色彩缤纷且明亮。但这幅影像最特殊的在于：它同时也补捉到来自双子流星雨的流星迹；如果极光更亮的话，这些流星可能就不会这么醒目。影像左侧遥远的背景中，可见到我们银河的带状盘面，前方则散布着众多位在我们附近的恒星。今年的双子座流星雨之极大期就在明晚，届时或许能为星空爱好者带来难以忘怀的视觉享宴。
明日的图片: hidden jet
