Meteors & Aurora Together

This was an unusual night. For one thing, the night sky of August 11 and 12, earlier this week, occurred near the peak of the annual Perseid Meteor Shower. Therefore, meteors streaked across the dark night as small bits cast off from Comet Swift-Tuttle came crashing into the Earth’s atmosphere. Even more unusually, for central Germany at least, the night sky glowed purple. The red-blue hue was due to aurora caused by an explosion of particles from the Sun a few days before. This auroral storm was so intense that it was seen as far south as Texas and Italy, in Earth’s northern hemisphere. The featured image composite was built from 7 exposures taken over 26 minutes from Ense, Germany. The Perseids occur predictably every August, but auroras visible this far south are more unusual and less predictable.

For one thing, the night sky of August 11 and 12,
earlier this week, occurred near the peak of the annual
Perseid Meteor Shower.

Therefore, meteors streaked across the
dark night as small bits cast off from
Comet Swift-Tuttle came crashing into the
Earth’s atmosphere.

Even more unusually, for central
Germany
at least, the night
sky glowed purple.

The red-blue hue was due to aurora caused by an
explosion of particles from the
Sun a few days before.

This auroral storm was so intense that it
was seen as far south as
Texas and
Italy, in Earth’s northern hemisphere.

The featured image composite was built from 7 exposures
taken over 26 minutes from
Ense,
Germany.

The Perseids occur
predictably every August,
but auroras visible this far south are more unusual and less predictable.

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Authors & editors:
Robert Nemiroff
(MTU) &
Jerry Bonnell (UMCP)
NASA Official: Amber Straughn
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