Top Ten Space Pictures of 2009: Geminid Meteor Pierces the Night



Like a silver spear cast from the heavens, the bright streak of a Geminid meteor pierces the night sky over California's Mojave Desert during the annual meteor shower's December 2009 peak.



Geminids are slower than other shooting stars and are known to make beautiful long arcs across the sky. This could be because they're born of debris from a dormant comet and so are made mostly of hard, sun-baked rock that takes longer to burn up in Earth's atmosphere, experts suggest.



—Photograph by Wally Pacholka, TWAN



Source: National Geographic

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Added: 15 years ago.
Topic: Small Solar System Bodies (SSSB)