This is what a shooting star looks like from space
A NASA astronaut on board the International Space Station caught sight of a meteor streaking into a beautiful shooting star.
Not to destroy the romance, but when you wish upon a shooting star, you're actually hoping a small scrap of rock or dust will grant your fondest desire. Despite being caused by meteors, shooting stars are still beautiful, and they're even more intriguing when seen from the International Space Station.
NASA astronaut Randy Bresnik posted several lovely looks at a shooting star on social media Friday after he caught sight of a meteor strike while filming a time-lapse video.
Here's his cropped, slowed-down look at the meteor as it transforms into what Bresnik calls "a traditional shooting star formation:"
Here is a closer look at that meteor strike. That is so cool how it lights up the surface of the planet and then turns into a traditional shooting star formation. pic.twitter.com/zplhYKU8Z4
— Randy Bresnik (@AstroKomrade) December 8, 2017
The shooting star appeared over the west coast of Mexico and originally made a blink-and-you'll-miss-it cameo in the corner of a minute-long nighttime time-lapse video:
Beautiful coastal lights from Seattle down to Baja - if you live on the west coast of North America you are probably in this video! Make a wish on the shooting star, seen in the upper right at about 30 seconds. pic.twitter.com/knWUdYzaCS
— Randy Bresnik (@AstroKomrade) December 8, 2017
Mid-December is traditionally a great time for meteor-watching as the annual Geminids meteor shower puts on a show in the night sky. Most of us will never have a chance to capture a falling star from space, so it's a good thing Bresnik has done the work for us.
