Astronomy Picture of the Day

Explanation: Taken on July 29 and July 30,a registered and stacked series of exposures createsthis dreamlike view of anorthern summer night.Multiple firefly flashes streak across the foreground asthe luminous Milky Way arcs above the horizon inthe Sierra de Órganos national park of central Mexico,The collection of bright streaks aligned across thesky toward the upper left in the timelapse imageare Delta Aquariid meteors.Currently active, the annualDelta Aquarid meteor showershares Augustnights though, overlapping with the better-knownPerseid meteor shower.This year that makes post-midnight, mostly moonless skies inearly August very popular with late night skygazers.How can you tell a Delta Aquariidfrom a Perseid meteor? The streaks of Perseid meteors can be traced back toan apparent radiant in the constellation Perseus.Delta Aquariids appear to emerge from the more southerlyconstellation Aquarius, beyond the top left of this frame.Of course, the bioluminescent flashes of fireflies are commontoo on these northern summer nights.But how can you tell a firefly from a meteor?Just try to catch one.