Astronomy Picture of the Day

Explanation: Meteors from theKappa Cygnidmeteor showerare captured in this time-lapse composite skyscape.The minor meteor shower, with aradiantnot far from itseponymous star Kappa Cygni, peaks in mid-August, almostat the same time as the much better-known andbetter-observed Perseid meteor shower.But, seen to have a peak rate of only about 3 meteors per hour,Kappa Cygnids are vastly outnumbered by the more popular, prolificPerseid shower'smeteors that emanate from the heroic constellation Perseus.To capture dozens of Kappa Cygnids, this long term astro-imaging projectcompiled meteors in exposures selected from over 51 August nights duringthe years 2012 through 2024.Most of the exposures withidentified Kappa Cygnid meteorswere made in August 2021,a high point of the shower's known 7-year activity cycle.All twelve years worth of Kappa Cygnidsare registered against a base sea and night skyscape of the Milky Way aboveElafonisi Beach, Crete, Greece, also recorded in August of 2021.