The Case of the Mysterious Maybe Meteor
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August 19, 2026
The Moon has changed phase thousands of times since the beginning of the cosmos, but only once did it shine on the night you arrived.
The Case of the Mysterious Maybe Meteor
Birthday · August 19, 2026
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APOD published August 19, 2026 · Video still. Full image credits are on the original APOD entry below. A publication-date match, not a photo taken on your date. Independent of NASA.
Whatdunit? What disappeared while crossing a partially eclipsed Sun? Let’s present the evidence. The 24 frames-per-second video was taken in Spain (40°34'30.3"N 1°12'28.8"W) at 20:28 local time on August 12, 2026. The Perseids meteor shower was at its peak during this time. Is this a meteor? Meteor showers trace back to a region of the sky called a radiant point that corresponds to where the Earth is crossing a comet’s path. The object’s path might trace back to the Perseids’ radiant point in the Perseus constellation. The object trails a smaller angle on the sky than the 0.5 degree Sun and Moon, which is smaller than expected for a meteor. Its brightness does not extend much past the Sun, but a meteor burning up in the sky would not need sunlight to be seen. Perhaps the sunlight is reflecting off of the object? After cross-referencing the location, time, and point in the sky with a flight database, the culprit is found to be an airplane contrail!