費森的雛鳥
Phaethon's Brood
來源：Mikiya Sato｜發表日期：2024-12-12
3200 Phaethon（聽起來像 "FAY-eh-thon"）被公認為每年雙子座流星雨的流星體源。儘管大多數流星雨的 "父母 "都是彗星，但 3200 Phaethon 是一顆已知的近地小行星，它的軌道週期為 1 . 4 年，並受到密切跟蹤。這顆小行星岩石質地，被太陽烘烤，它的近日點或最接近太陽的位置正好在最內側行星水星的軌道內。在這個望遠鏡視場中，小行星在英仙座微弱背景恆星的襯托下快速運動，在兩分鐘的總曝光時間內留下了一道短短的痕跡。其流星子女的（微弱的）平行條紋在場景中閃爍得更快。這張全家福是在 2017 年 12 月 13 日雙子座流星雨非常活躍的高峰期附近拍攝的。當時距離 3200 Phaethon 歷史性地接近地球只有三天時間。今年， 12 月 13 日晚應該會再次迎來雙子座流星雨的高峰期，但微弱的流星將被近滿月的亮光沖淡。 觀看： 2024 年雙子座流星雨
原文：Based on its well-measured orbit, 3200 Phaethon (sounds like FAY-eh-thon) is recognized as the source of the meteoroid stream responsible for the annual Geminid meteor shower. Even though most meteor shower parents are comets, 3200 Phaethon is a known and closely tracked near-Earth asteroid with a 1.4 year orbital period. Rocky and sun-baked, its perihelion or closest approach to the Sun is well within the orbit of innermost planet Mercury. In this telescopic field of view, the asteroid's rapid motion against faint background stars of the heroic constellation Perseus left a short trail during the two minute total exposure time. The (faint) parallel streaks of its meteoric children flashed much more quickly across the scene. The family portrait was recorded near the Geminid meteor shower's very active peak on 2017 December 13. That was just three days before 3200 Phaethon's historic close approach to planet Earth. This year, the night of December 13 should again see the peak of the Geminid meteor shower, but faint meteors will be washed out by the bright light of the nearly full moon. Watch: The 2024 Geminid Meteor Shower
※ 本文由萌芽機器人自動轉貼自每日一天文圖（Astronomy Picture of the Day，APOD），原文為英文，正體中文是透過 DeepL 翻譯及 OpenCC 進行自動處理，內容僅供參考，若有任何錯誤之處還請見諒！
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