Okay, I know this isn't really a "shooting star" and that no planet is truly stationary, but it just seemed like an appropriate title for this shot!
Shot this early Thursday morning at Camp Robinson WDA (it's the only reasonably dark sky area around here). The Perseid meteor shower was very good this year. Saw over 70 in about two hours. I was able to capture this shot with Jupiter on the right as one of the brighter meteors appeared from behind the tree I was using to try and ground the shot.
Very nice!!! The framing is right on! Nice clean/sharp image.
I went to Petit Jean two nights in a row and have nothing to write home about. The Milky Way showed up Tuesday night real good. Then the moon came out and I was back home by 12:30am. This morning, Karla and I left at 3:00am to the Grave overlook on Petit Jean. We saw hundreds, but the moon really dampened the chances for great images. Karla managed one decent meteor shot. We watched the sunrise and headed home.
You could get hooked on this kind of stuff real easy! It's very challenging.
Out of over 300 images from Tuesday and Wednesday mornings, this and one other were the only ones that actually captured a meteor. Maybe that's what the challenge is!?!
Believe me, more than once when a nice bright meteor shot across the sky just out of frame for the 17-55 did I think, "Gee, I should have borrowed that 10mm from Mike!"
There's always the Leonids in December!
Dave H.
Posted by Larry Daniel on August 13, 2009 at 5:42 PM
Too bad! It was in use! But, the wider the lens, the smaller the subject becomes. You may capture the meteorite, but you may not be able to find it in the frame. Karla will post hers later after work. It's not as good as yours.
Ain't it the truth, Jon!?! Altogether I sat out about 6 hours between Wednesday and Thursday mornings; shot some 600 shots between the two sessions and captured TWO with a meteor in them.
At the same time, though, I had a ball! Everytime I'd set myself a deadline to leave I'd hit the deadline and think, "OK, maybe just 15 more minutes." Fifteen minutes would pass and I'd think, "Just another 30 minutes." It was great! Loved every minute of it and will probably be back out tonight even though the peak nights are over!
I'll bring the mosquito spray if anybody wants to join me!!
Dave H.
Posted by Karla Hall on August 13, 2009 at 8:50 PM
Bro. Dave...Yours came out a lot better than mine. I shot so wide to try to capture anything, that the one I got was pretty small in the frame...But, hey, I did get atleast one :0). If I could predict it better, I would have shot tighter...Anywho...Look reeeeal close and you can see the streak
Posted by Bill Dark on August 21, 2009 at 12:15 AM
I'd say your efforts were well-rewarded, David - great shot! Pretty impressive for a 20 sec, iso 1000 exposure...
Discussion
8 repliesShot this early Thursday morning at Camp Robinson WDA (it's the only reasonably dark sky area around here). The Perseid meteor shower was very good this year. Saw over 70 in about two hours. I was able to capture this shot with Jupiter on the right as one of the brighter meteors appeared from behind the tree I was using to try and ground the shot.
Nikon D300; Nikkor 17-55 f2.8 @ f2.8; 20 seconds; ISO 1000.
This was my first attempt at it but I could get hooked on this astrophotography!!
Dave Hatfield
I went to Petit Jean two nights in a row and have nothing to write home about. The Milky Way showed up Tuesday night real good. Then the moon came out and I was back home by 12:30am. This morning, Karla and I left at 3:00am to the Grave overlook on Petit Jean. We saw hundreds, but the moon really dampened the chances for great images. Karla managed one decent meteor shot. We watched the sunrise and headed home.
You could get hooked on this kind of stuff real easy! It's very challenging.
Believe me, more than once when a nice bright meteor shot across the sky just out of frame for the 17-55 did I think, "Gee, I should have borrowed that 10mm from Mike!"
There's always the Leonids in December!
Dave H.
At the same time, though, I had a ball! Everytime I'd set myself a deadline to leave I'd hit the deadline and think, "OK, maybe just 15 more minutes." Fifteen minutes would pass and I'd think, "Just another 30 minutes." It was great! Loved every minute of it and will probably be back out tonight even though the peak nights are over!
I'll bring the mosquito spray if anybody wants to join me!!
Dave H.