Astronomy Picture of the Day ·

Vaporizing Meteor Photobombs the Lacerta Nebula

The Astronomy Picture of the Day for August 3, 2026 is “Vaporizing Meteor Photobombs the Lacerta Nebula,” an image. The picture is copyrighted by its creator (Tom Burnett). The original explanation runs about 169 words.

A dark starfield has a faint red nebula near the center. A bright streak crosses the image horizontally from the lower left, filled with faint evaporating wisps in many colors. Please see the explanation for more detailed information.
Credit & Copyright: Tom Burnett Copyrighted Shown from science.nasa.gov. Not hosted by OpenOrbit.

From the explanation

“What’s happening to this meteor? This bright meteor streak appeared and disappeared quickly during a long exposure of the Great Lacerta Nebula, seen faintly in red toward the center of the image.”

— APOD editors, August 3, 2026

Read the full explanation on science.nasa.gov

At a glance

Date
August 3, 2026
Type
Image
Credit
Credit & Copyright: Tom Burnett
Copyright
Copyrighted by the credited creator. Ask the copyright holder before reusing it.
Explanation length
About 169 words

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Topics in this entry

The MoonNebulaeMeteors

Topics are matched from words in the title and explanation.

On this day: August 3 in other years

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Source

Copy taken Oct 28, 2026, 2:39 AM EDT. The image and explanation belong to their creators. OpenOrbit is not affiliated with or endorsed by NASA.