Cascading Meteors Over KPNO

This Image of the Week captures the mesmerizing Geminids meteor shower above the NSF McMath Pierce Solar Telescope at U.S. National Science Foundation Kitt Peak National Observatory (KPNO), a Program of NSF NOIRLab, as the Milky Way rises high into the sky. The annual Geminids shower happens when Earth passes through the debris trail of asteroid 3200 Phaethon in December and this debris collides with our atmosphere to then explode into fiery streaks of light. The Geminids is unusual among meteor showers because it is one of two major showers not caused by a comet. Two telescopes at KPNO are used to study asteroids: the UArizona 0.9-meter and 1.8-meter Spacewatch telescopes. The University of Arizona’s Spacewatch Program was founded to explore the various populations of small objects in the Solar System and study the statistics of asteroids and comets to investigate the dynamical evolution of the Solar System.

The decommissioned NSF McMath-Pierce Solar Telescope was the largest solar telescope in the world and is now being given new life as a dynamic astronomy visualization and presentation center focused on astronomy funded by NSF. With the public opening scheduled for mid-2025, visitors can expect an experience built on NOIRLab’s foundational principle of Discovering Our Universe Together.

Rob Sparks, the photographer, is a NOIRLab Audiovisual Ambassador.