Persees fall so fast to the earth that only three astronauts have managed to photograph them “from above”

How do you see a fleeting star from the International Space Station? If it is already difficult to capture the persistent here, Although there are guides for itdo it from space, moving to 27,600 km/h, when the persistes pass that speed to eight times and burn in a second, demands patience. But at least three astronauts have achieved it: two Americans and one Russian, each with a very particular style.

A Perseid Vista from the International Space Station on August 13, 2011
A Perseid Vista from the International Space Station on August 13, 2011

Image | Ron Garan, Nasa

Ron Garan. The former NASA astronaut, flight engineer of expedition 28, took this photo on August 13, 2011, during The meteor rain of the Perseids. The International Space Station was flying over China, about 400 kilometers northwest of Beijing, when Garan managed to immortalize the flash of a persistent burning in the earth’s atmosphere.

The photo was no accident. The astronaut had placed himself in the ISS dome with his fair camera during the Perseidas Activity Peak. The green and yellow glow that is perceived between the earth and the emptiness of space is the luminescence of the atmosphere: atoms and molecules that are excited with sunlight during the day and release this energy at night. As for the intense blue brightness under the solar panels of the station, it is dawn.

Perseids seen from the International Space Station on August 12, 2015
Perseids seen from the International Space Station on August 12, 2015

Image | Scott Kelly, Nasa

Scott Kelly. Known for spending a year in space to compare with his twin brother Mark, former American astronaut also took advantage of expedition 44 to take pictures. On August 12, 2015, Kelly achieved an image of the stelae left by the Perseids in the long exhibition photos. In the absence of Luna, the starry sky stands out almost more than our planet.

From the perspective of the International Space Station, which orbits the Earth to about 400 kilometers of altitude, meteors such as Perseids go underneath, heating up to incandescence. The bright grains of dust travel about 60 kilometers per second, disintegrating about 100 kilometers on the earth’s surface.

The Perseids seen from the International Space Station on August 9, 2024
The Perseids seen from the International Space Station on August 9, 2024

Image | Oleg Kokonnko, Roscosmos

Oleg Kononenko. The Russian cosmonaut, which has traveled five times to space and is the person who has spent the most days out of the earth (1,111), He also has his photo of a Perseida. He took it on August 9, 2024 from the International Space Station. And although the city of the background is a bit climbing, the detail with which he managed to capture the fleeting star makes it an iconic image.

It is believed that it is perseiled for the date. These meteors are particles expelled by the Swift-Tuttle comet throughout their orbit, which is close enough to the earth on these dates to be dragged by the gravitational field of our planet. The Pico de Activity occurs in mid -Augustbut you can see the persistes from the end of July to the beginning of August, full summer in the northern hemisphere, which makes them the most popular meteor rain to this side of the world.

Image | Scott Kelly, Nasa

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