Astronomy Picture of the Day

   [1]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 August 25
    [2]A starfield surrounds the bright blue stars of a star cluster: the
     Pleiades star cluster. Nearly horizontally across the cluster is a
    bright green streak, most likely a meteor. Please see the explanation
                       for more detailed information.

                       The Meteor and the Star Cluster
       Image Credit & Copyright: [3]Yousif Alqasimi & [4]Essa Al Jasmi

   Explanation: Sometimes even the sky surprises you. To see more stars
   and faint nebulosity in the [5]Pleiades star cluster ([6]M45), long
   exposures are made. Many times, less interesting items appear on the
   exposures that were not intended -- but later edited out. These include
   [7]stuck pixels, [8]cosmic ray hits, frames with [9]bright clouds or
   [10]Earth's Moon, [11]airplane trails, [12]lens flares, [13]faint
   satellite trails, and even [14]insect trails. Sometimes, though,
   something [15]really interesting is caught by chance. That was just the
   case a few weeks ago in [16]al-Ula, [17]Saudi Arabia when a bright
   meteor streaked across during an [18]hour-long exposure of the
   [19]Pleiades. Along with the [20]famous bright blue stars, less famous
   and less bright blue stars, and [21]blue-reflecting dust surrounding
   the star cluster, the [22]fast rock fragment created a distinctive
   green glow, likely due to vaporized metals.

              Jigsaw Universe: [23]Astronomy Puzzle of the Day
                       Tomorrow's picture: leaky star
     __________________________________________________________________

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    Authors & editors: [35]Robert Nemiroff ([36]MTU) & [37]Jerry Bonnell
                                 ([38]UMCP)
          NASA Official: Amber Straughn [39]Specific rights apply.
            [40]NASA Web Privacy, [41]Accessibility, [42]Notices;
                A service of: [43]ASD at [44]NASA / [45]GSFC,
                         [46]NASA Science Activation
                           & [47]Michigan Tech. U.

References

   1. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/archivepix.html
   2. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/image/2508/MeteorPleiades_Alqasimi_1677.jpg
   3. https://www.instagram.com/alqasmyi/
   4. https://www.instagram.com/eaqj
   5. https://science.nasa.gov/mission/hubble/science/explore-the-night-sky/hubble-messier-catalog/messier-45/
   6. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pleiades
   7. https://www.mobilepixels.us/pages/what-is-a-stuck-pixel
   8. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap071112.html
   9. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap180217.html
  10. https://science.nasa.gov/moon/
  11. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap190212.html
  12. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lens_flare
  13. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap191014.html
  14. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap041207.html
  15. https://www.reddit.com/media?url=https://preview.redd.it/please-show-me-pictures-of-your-surprised-cats-v0-sgez0pmvydsd1.jpeg?width=1080&auto=webp&s=2fad553cb814bf101ef53a25f0afe4560922171f
  16. https://youtu.be/1Ms1J5q2O_I
  17. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saudi_Arabia
  18. https://www.instagram.com/p/DNTN8AwMrfT/?img_index=1
  19. https://apod.nasa.gov/cgi-bin/apod/apod_search?tquery=Pleiades
  20. https://esahubble.org/images/opo0420b/
  21. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap240129.html
  22. https://science.nasa.gov/solar-system/meteors-meteorites/
  23. https://www.scigames.org/apps/webjigsaw2/index.php
  24. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap250824.html
  25. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/archivepix.html
  26. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/apsubmit2015.html
  27. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/aptree.html
  28. https://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/cgi-bin/apod/apod_search
  29. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/calendar/allyears.html
  30. https://apod.com/feed.rss
  31. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/edlinks.html
  32. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/about_apod.html
  33. https://asterisk.apod.com/discuss_apod.php?date=250825
  34. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap250826.html
  35. http://www.phy.mtu.edu/faculty/Nemiroff.html
  36. http://www.phy.mtu.edu/
  37. https://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/htmltest/jbonnell/www/bonnell.html
  38. http://www.astro.umd.edu/
  39. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/about_apod.html#srapply
  40. https://www.nasa.gov/about/highlights/HP_Privacy.html
  41. https://www.nasa.gov/general/accessibility/
  42. https://www.nasa.gov/privacy/
  43. https://astrophysics.gsfc.nasa.gov/
  44. https://www.nasa.gov/
  45. https://www.nasa.gov/centers/goddard/
  46. https://science.nasa.gov/learners
  47. http://www.mtu.edu/