A heads-up for Meteor Showers

[airgunr]

Mark your calendars for August 12th. The Persiads (sp?) meteor showers will be at their height that night. I've been skunked the last 3 years with cloudy skys so I'm hoping for clear skys that night.

Long exposures of 30 minutes or more should give cool star trails with streaks of meteors shooting through.

 

[terri]

oooo!!! I will try to be out there. We usually get skunked due to smog more than anything that time of year, but when it's clear, it is a sight to marvel at.

 

[doenoe]

Oh nice, hope i can see them here too..........and be awake.

 

[Alison]

We'll be watching with tripods and cameras ready :mrgreen:

 

[Torus34]

Be careful of very long exposures where the skies are light-polluted. You may just end up with fogged film. Make some exposures beforehand of an area of the sky with stars of known magnitude - preferably 1 to 4. Consider meteor trails to be 3 - 4 magnitude. If the exposure fogs out 3rd maggie stars, you will have trouble distinguishing the meteor trails. Also take the opportunity to locate the shower's radiant. 45-55mm lenses [on a 35mm rig] are about right for the job. Lens shades matter.

 

[Torus34]

While waiting for Aug. 12th, you can sharpen your technique by catching satellites most any old night. The place to find out where and when to point your rig is:

http://heavens-above.com/

 

[treehuggerhikerboy]

Nice, thanks! I might have to head for the hills that night.