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.

2025 July 23
A bright streak is pictured through a starry sky over a 
beach spotted with the husks of dead trees. The rollover
shows the resulting smoke trail from the bright meteor.
Moving the cursor over the image will bring up an annotated version.
Clicking on the image will bring up the highest resolution version
available.
Please see the explanation for more detailed information.

Fireball over Cape San Blas
Image Credit & Copyright: Jason Rice

Explanation: Have you ever seen a fireball? In astronomy, a fireball is a very bright meteor -- one at least as bright as Venus and possibly brighter than even a full Moon. Fireballs are rare -- if you see one you are likely to remember it for your whole life. Physically, a fireball is a small rock that originated from an asteroid or comet that typically leaves a fading smoke trail of gas and dust as it shoots through the Earth's atmosphere. It is unlikely that any single large ground strike occurred -- much of the rock likely vapourized as it broke up into many small pieces. The featured picture was captured last week from a deadwood beach in Cape San Blas, Florida, USA.

Piece it Back Together: Astronomy Puzzle of the Day
Tomorrow's picture: open space


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