Perseids Meteor Shower 2009

[Celestron]

It's coming next week !! If your interested this is a great opportunity to capture some meteorite pictures . 30-secs on a tripod is all you need and a short lens . Read about it HERE (http://science.nasa.gov/headlines/y2009/31jul_perseids2009.htm) . If you get any pictures post them here so we can have a starting point . Pictures are already being captured and posted on the Perseids Gallery at Spaceweather (http://www.spaceweather.com/) .

[gshappell]

I was wondering if we were approaching the date...last weekend i spotted 4 "shooting stars" while taking night pics. Should be exciting!

[boufa]

I went out looking for good spots to shoot from last night. I have struggled in the past to find places that are open after 11pm and are not grumpy about people being there. I think I found a good one. I'll be out for several nights. This is my first time trying to photograph them. I have what I hope is a rare opportunity, I am out of work, so I have no other commitments in the way from staying out all night.

Do they build toward peek? What I mean is that I know that there are some out now, but do they get a little more every night, then peek, or is pretty even until the peek night the pow! Always worried about clouds, and want to hedge my bets. If Monday night will be decent, but not quite peek, then I might go out a couple of nights.

[gshappell]

So much light pollution here...i might have to take a short trip to a park or something.

[Celestron]

Do they build toward peek? What I mean is that I know that there are some out now, but do they get a little more every night, then peek, or is pretty even until the peek night the pow!

Heres a peak chart : http://www.spaceweather.com/swpod2009/04aug09/Per009_zhr_strip.jpg

[Jeff]

Do you think the moon will be a problem? About 60% and it rises at 10 something here.

[Celestron]

Do you think the moon will be a problem? About 60% and it rises at 10 something here.

It rises CST at 9:30pm , same time as Perseus Constellation . It will have some effect on meteors that are short and dim but if you can stay in a shadow area with the moon out of site and don't be looking at the moon itself it shouldn't be a great problem . But i wouldn't waste any time waiting after the sunset to start looking for meteors . Some of the best meteors i've seen was between 9-12 midnight . Mostly depends if it's cloudy or not even partly cloudy will block some of the moonlight but also sky area :( . But also early morn say 3-6:30am would be ok also .

[Canon Pete]

If I have clear sky I have an ideal spot , sadly the weather is not looking too good.

[cnaude]

I will have clear skies. Unfortunately the city lights are terrible near Phoenix AZ. Anyone near Phoenix have any recommendations on a good viewing spot? I was thinking of taking carefree highway out west towards the lake.

[Celestron]

I will have clear skies. Unfortunately the city lights are terrible near Phoenix AZ. Anyone near Phoenix have any recommendations on a good viewing spot? I was thinking of taking carefree highway out west towards the lake.

Check this bortle scale for your area . It's a good resorce info .
http://cleardarksky.com/lp/Phoenixlp.html

[Celestron]

If you have bad weather and can't watch the Meteor Shower but you want to listen here is the link : http://spaceweatherradio.com/

[Adrena1in]

Been waiting for a clear night so that I can set up my camera and leave it snapping away. Clouds, clouds, rain clouds and more clouds. :confused: :mad:

[xMClass]

Gonna be going out tomorrow night. Should be fun.

[Celestron]

Just reading on SpaceWeather (http://www.spaceweather.com/) that they expect the peak at about 0800 UT (1 am PDT) . That's when Earth is expected to pass through a denser-than-usual filament of dust from the shower's parent Comet Swift-Tuttle. For an hour or so, rates could surge to 200 per hour .So where ever you live you can figure your time in your area when that time is . I live CST so 1:00am PDT for me would be 3:00am CST on Wednesday morning the 12th because we are 2 hours ahead of PDT . EST would be about 4:00am , your 3 hours ahead of PDT . So be ready if you have the chance !! Hopefully i have the times corrected now .

[Chopper Al]

I live CST so 1:00am PDT for me would be 11:00pm CST on tuesday night the 11th because we are 2 hours ahead of PDT . EST would be about 10:00pm , your 3 hours ahead of PDT .

I could be wrong, but wouldn't that make it 4:00 am EST and 3:00AM PDT?

I live in London, ON, Canada (EST), and if I have to make a call to the west coast, I need to wait until around noon here, in order to call for 9:00am on the west coast.

Al

[boufa]

You are correct, the times are ahead, not behind. 1 am PDT is 4 am EDT. Several websites, and "experts" feel that midnight - 4am EDT is gonna be pretty good. There is a chance that we will travel through 3 different comet dust trails.

Lets be clear however.... your mileage may vary. Peak predictions are very much like hurricane season predictons. Some good science leading to wild speculation, and often questionable results. How many particles of dust actually flame up, and how bright they will be, and more importantly how the moon will obscure the duller ones are the biggest questions. For me, the dim ones are no fun. I like the bright streakers. I have even seen a fireball that I actually heard go pop! (I thought it was in my head, but my wife heard it, and since then I have read that it is possible) There is no moon bright enough to ruin those types.

Using the machine gun rule, (the more you throw out there the better chance of a hit) would mean the more dust and debris that there is, the better chance of seeing some, or even taking a few photos.

I just got permission from a local park to lay out all night in a dark corner of an open field. I am gonna set up, get comfortable and see what happens.

Good Hunting everyone!

[Celestron]

I could be wrong, but wouldn't that make it 4:00 am EST and 3:00AM PDT?

I live in London, ON, Canada (EST), and if I have to make a call to the west coast, I need to wait until around noon here, in order to call for 9:00am on the west coast.

Al


That puts your time 3-hrs after PDT on the West Coast . So if you figure the meteor showers peak is 1:00am PDT then 3-hrs after that for you would be 4:00am EST . I'll correct my original post . Thanks for pointing that out .

[Celestron]

I have even seen a fireball that I actually heard go pop! (I thought it was in my head, but my wife heard it, and since then I have read that it is possible) There is no moon bright enough to ruin those types.



Thats also true cause i have heard several myself as well as my wife over many years of watching MS . The Leonids of 2001 (http://www.astropix.com/HTML/SHOWCASE/LEONID3.HTM) was a very good example . Great show !! Just a month before i got my first SLR Film camera :( . We heard lots that night ! This is the Gallery (http://www.spaceweather.com/meteors/gallery_18nov01.html?PHPSESSID=3olkhdv8ivrd3hp1ier 95ujmm3) at SpaceWeather for November 18, 2001 .

[boufa]

That puts your time 3-hrs after PDT on the West Coast . So if you figure the meteor showers peak is 1:00am PDT then 3-hrs after that for you would be 4:00am EST . I'll correct my original post . Thanks for pointing that out .

Its an easy error to make. I always struggled with the PDT being the 4th time zone, but only 3 hours off... I know I'm stupid, but I used to adjust by 4 hours, not 3. I have grown up though.

Enjoy the show, I would love it if I could see it at 1am, but I will likely wait and see what happens, just skip sleeping tonight.

[Celestron]

Heres a good map showing time zones and time for refernces .
http://www.worldtimezone.com/time-usa12.php

[Sky of the Plains]

I'll be out all night too. Thinking the best photo ops will occur between 9 and 11, with no moon. Then again at the peak at 3am CDT. Got clear skies, dark sky location, camera, tripod. Good to go. Good luck and clear skies everyone!

[oomus]

I will have clear skies. Unfortunately the city lights are terrible near Phoenix AZ. Anyone near Phoenix have any recommendations on a good viewing spot? I was thinking of taking carefree highway out west towards the lake.

Sicamore creek.
4 peaks road
The west end of moutain park ranch behind south mountain
anywhere past 99th avenue out by lake Pleasant
Anywhere out by Gold Canyon
Anywhere South of Firebird Raceway and North of Casa Grande
Could also go out by the Salt river recreation area

There are alot of good places but sadly the weather looks like it will be against us!

[BadgirlIROC]

How do I know where to look in my area? I live in Middle GA....do I just look for the constellation and hope to see them? At any time of the nite?

[Celestron]

How do I know where to look in my area? I live in Middle GA....do I just look for the constellation and hope to see them? At any time of the nite?


Meteors will shoot across the sky in all directions but if you follow the tail backwards it usually points to where they come from . Good meteors can be seen as far away as 40-90 degrees away from the point of entry .

From my experience i have seen alot go south and southeast , west and north . Seen very little go east because by that time it's usually getting the start of sunlight from the east then when the sun comes up it's usually over . You may still be able to see some Wednesday night also .

Sometimes you can see after effects a week afterwards . Just watch all around the sky . If your just watching get a blanket and lay on the ground with your feet pointing north and south and just watch the whole sky . They maybe slow at start but as the night progresses they will increase until peak time in your area then they will start to decrease til dawn .

If your taking pictures use 800 or higher ISO and set camera for bulb or 30-secs . I usually do 30-secs , keeps menimum star trails and keeps down light pollution if you watching from a LP area . If you have your camera on a tracking platform of sometype such as a telescope mount then set camera to bulb and do 1-2 mins exposer unless you have too much LP . BTW use a tripod if you don't have a tracking platform .

Good luck everyone and let us know your status and if you get picts then post them !! I'll start a new thread to post picts since this thread is getting long with postings .

Post pictures in THIS THREAD (http://photography-on-the.net/forum/showthread.php?p=8441364#post8441364) .

[dollei]

Guys I need some help; I am not exactly sure when this will occur. Will it be August 11-12 or August 12-13? Everywhere I've searched online is saying one or the other...will it occur on both nights? If so, which night will have more?

[Celestron]

Guys I need some help; I am not exactly sure when this will occur. Will it be August 11-12 or August 12-13? Everywhere I've searched online is saying one or the other...will it occur on both nights? If so, which night will have more?

Tonight the 11th it will start and the peak will be in the morning hours . It will be at 1:00am PDT so depending what time zone you live in as to when the peak time will be . If you live in the USA then use the times below for your zone area .

Eastern Time = 4:00am Peak time
Central Time = 3:00am Peak time
Mountain Time = 2:00am Peak time
Pacific Time = 1:00am Peak time


IF you miss the show tonight you may be able to still see some meteors Wednesday night but you will not see very many as you would Tuesday night . If you watch tonight start when it gets dark . You should see some before the peak .

[Pricey]

Any idea if it will be visible in the UK?

[heladepela]

Yes, most definitely visible in the UK. I just stood outside for about 5 mins and saw one.
Read the BBC page (http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/8193769.stm) on it.
Realised there's too much light pollution around where I am to actually see it well... :(

[Digita1Rebel]

Celestron what settings would you use? shutter priority at 30 seconds or full manual?

[huyness]

if you're near san francisco, the fog will role in at midnight, basically ruining god's moneyshot :(

http://www.sfgate.com/weather/graphics/sideclose.gif

[Pricey]

Yes, most definitely visible in the UK. I just stood outside for about 5 mins and saw one.
Read the BBC page (http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/8193769.stm) on it.
Realised there's too much light pollution around where I am to actually see it well... :(

Totally covered in cloud...typical.

[kellieprinzel]

I live in Houston. I am thinking about going out to a pier over a lake down the road. Nice open skies and minimal city lights. It's hard to find a dark spot around here though. Anyone have a better suggestion? It'd be nice if it was local. I live in Humble, Tx

Also! If you have any tips for me please let me know, it would be greatly appreciated. I have never tried this before. I have a tripod and a cable release but I would love to know the best settings to use. Thaaaaaaanks!

[Celestron]

Celestron what settings would you use? shutter priority at 30 seconds or full manual?

Use Full manual , widest f/stop you can do and do a test shot and focus your camera and also check to see if there is LP interfering with your pict. If so then go to f/4 and f/5.6 , f/6.3 to see if thats what is need to shun some of the LP . If you close the f/stop too much you might miss some dimmer meteors which are hard to capture anyway . if you can open to f/2.8 or f/3.5 try thoase first . Also you may want to raise the ISO to 1600 for the dimmer meteors . Right now on spaceweather , Barcelonia Spain is reporting some bright meteors which if so in your area the brighter the better and easier to capture !! Check out SpaceWeather (http://www.spaceweather.com/) and look at the earlier Perseids Galleries and most photographers tell their settings so as to give you a great idea to try in those ranges . Good luck !

[Celestron]

I live in Houston. I am thinking about going out to a pier over a lake down the road. Nice open skies and minimal city lights. It's hard to find a dark spot around here though. Anyone have a better suggestion? It'd be nice if it was local. I live in Humble, Tx

Also! If you have any tips for me please let me know, it would be greatly appreciated. I have never tried this before. I have a tripod and a cable release but I would love to know the best settings to use. Thaaaaaaanks!


Check out the settings these photographers used in the 2007 Perseids Meteor Gallery . Good settings and some tell lens size . Use a Wide lens , 18-55 great , 17-55 great , 28 prime great , Fisheye good for brightest meteors , i wouldn't go beyond 55mm and if you use a crop factor camera keep it below 35mm settings if you can . 10-22 would be ok for bright ones but too wide for dimmer ones unless your using f/1.2 or f/1.4 , and f/2.8 might work better at 22mm . Best thing to do is setup your camera on a tripod , set it to manual , open widest f/stop , use ISO 800 and start taking practice shots early . Adjust the f/stop down if your picture is too bright and keep adjusting accordingly . If your pict is too dark increase the ISO and keep the f/stop open wide . When your satistfied with a starfield picture and it's focused best you can get then save those settings til you start seeing meteors and start shooting . Watch all over and don't be moving your camera every shot . You chance the focus messing up and if you change too much you may miss a meteorite that shot where you just were . Be patient , i guarantee your going to miss alot but thats the way it is with meteor showers , hit - miss , and being lucky ! If you can extend your exposer longer than 30-secs and still have a decnt picture then do so . Lots of StarTrail (http://www.astropix.com/HTML/SHOWCASE/METEOR.HTM)pictures have meteors in them and that makes a good picture !!

[Celestron]

I maybe getting clouded in tonight according to my WeatherClock (http://cleardarksky.com/f.php?p=3C2012OddMidTX&xhair=2&Mn=apochromatic) :( . I'm in Texas where the + sign is on the left side of Texas . This is for 3:00am my time which is Peak my time :( . It always happens unless just by chance it clears some .

[cnaude]

The clouds rolled in today and won't clear tonight. :(

[dollei]

So should we leave it on autofocus or focus to infinity, which I have read?

[Celestron]

Well i just went outside to check and while i've been explaining how to take a picture the weater God has completely covered me in also . The weatherman on TV said we'd have a clear night but guess he was wrong also . Hope everyone else who has clear skies has good luck and maybe someone will post a picture ! Meanwhile i'm going to listen to the SpaceWeather Radio (http://spaceweatherradio.com/) for awhile and maybe i'll hear some .

[Celestron]

If you need to see a ClearSky Clock Map for your area then check out THIS LINK (http://cleardarksky.com/csk/index.html#chart_list) and find the closest location to you and clcik on the bar with the little blue squares . The clock is in Military time so 22 would be 2200 hrs military time which is 10:00pm . 23 is 11:00pm and so on .

[drigo]

anybody having any luck? it's a no go for me...sky is clear but haven't seen anything...i think i might just get up a little early before work and try again...

[Evil_Edge]

it's suppose to be at it's prime between 1am and 4am where I am. only 11:20pm What is the consensus on Focusing?

[Digita1Rebel]

I just got back from taking pictures. I saw two meteors but didn't get any on camera. all the pictures i have are out of focus anyway. Doesn't bother me though because I got to see two. i live in south florida by the way so you can see them if you live in the US.

[PAS Photography]

no one has anything to post yet??? how disappointing...

[Evil_Edge]

ive seen two so far. can't get my damn camera set right though, stupid focus

[scpictaker]

I am focusing on infinity. Getting some good star shots with that. No trailing at a 30 sec shutter either.

[dollei]

So focusing on infinity is the way to go?

[Celestron]

ive seen two so far. can't get my damn camera set right though, stupid focus
Look throught the view finder , do not use LIVEVIEW . Point at the brightest object in the sky and focus to infinity then back off just a very slight amount . If you can see Jupiter in your view finder then focus on Jupiter because it's the brightest object so far besides the moon but don't look at the moon or focus on the moon . Jupiter is better . if you can see jupiter then Focus on VEGA the brightest star in the summer triangle which should be straight above at zenith for most ppl . BTW make sure your lens is set to manual focus and not AUTO ! Manually focus while looking in the view finder at jupiter .

[Celestron]

So focusing on infinity is the way to go?

Focus to infinity then very very slightly back off . Take a picture and zoom in and see if the stars are sharp focus . If not then try again same procedure .

[scpictaker]

turn off you image stabilization as well.

[Celestron]

I am focusing on infinity. Getting some good star shots with that. No trailing at a 30 sec shutter either.


Great ! Hope you capture one !

[Celestron]

turn off you image stabilization as well.


Correct ! I forgot that one :( .

[scpictaker]

me too, but I have to be at work in the morning so I cant stay up all night. I hope it picks up quick! :(

[dollei]

Cool thanks! It's barely 9pm right now...gonna be heading out at 12 to this hill in the mountains so it'll be nice and dark around me :)

[Celestron]

Cool thanks! It's barely 9pm right now...gonna be heading out at 12 to this hill in the mountains so it'll be nice and dark around me :)


Good luck ! If you get any picts post them on the other section i started about posting picts there .

[Celestron]

me too, but I have to be at work in the morning so I cant stay up all night. I hope it picks up quick! :(

I may go to bed and get up at 2:30am and if it's still cloudy i'll go back for good and sleep til time to get up at 6:00am .

[Biffbradford]

Caught none so far. Wouldn't you know it, just as I stop to review my shots ... a bright one goes right overhead!! Grrrr. LOL

Moon is bright. Gonna keep going because it could be useless later. I'm shooting overhead to slightly south. The bright one I saw was in the south-southeast going southwest.

Good luck all!

[paulie8pointer]

Caught none so far. Wouldn't you know it, just as I stop to review my shots ... a bright one goes right overhead!! Grrrr. LOL

Moon is bright. Gonna keep going because it could be useless later. I'm shooting overhead to slightly south. The bright one I saw was in the south-southeast going southwest.

Good luck all!

I got 2 in 45 minutes they look good on the camera - will have to see. I am setup looking N - NE .........Not sure if that is the best direction or not?? You are right - that moon is getting bright!

[scpictaker]

I saw that one too, missed it as well here in Edgerton

[GM_of_OLC]

Does everybody here own a compass or something? Ima just hope I'm lookin' in the right direction. Gonna go out in an hour or so. (12 here)

[Evil_Edge]

yah, not much goin on here (1am) im gonna drive out of town I think and get away from these street lights in about an hour I think

[DrFil]

I am focusing on infinity. Getting some good star shots with that. No trailing at a 30 sec shutter either.

it's best if you do test shots while changing the focus a little each time, going from infinity and then in. at infinity, it was quite OOF, but after i went in a little on my 17-40, looks nice.

Caught none so far. Wouldn't you know it, just as I stop to review my shots ... a bright one goes right overhead!! Grrrr. LOL


same thing happened to me haha...sucks

...and man do i have a ton of mosquito bites from sitting outside for even the 10 minutes it took me to set up my cam...was a stupid idea to walk outside in my boxers

[Biffbradford]

Nature break. ;)

No captures yet from the backyard. Shooting to the south, but going to switch more westerly next. Saw a double going to the southwest as the camera was processing. >:( :~( Oh well, going back out to try some more!

[paulie8pointer]

The lag time is what is killing me...........I think I should have 2 cameras going at 1 minute intervals:eyes

[rcfury]

I tried to go out and catch the Meteor shower.. Unfortunately every time i found a nice field either the cops ran me out of way or he clouds decided to make residence of the sky. No luck.

[Karl Johnston]

Heading out right now guys, wish me luck. 12 19 AM Mountain Standard Time

[kellieprinzel]

Too many city lights here. Went out to the "woods" for a couple of hours and never saw anything. it's 1:30 here. Probably go out in a couple of hours.

[Adrena1in]

Quite clear last night, so after having taken a few shots of my scopes and mount with a view to advertising them for sale, I flicked to MF, Manual, 30", burst shooting on, made sure mirror lock-up was off, fired off a test shot of the sky, and though it was still twilight and I could see the stars on the preview I thought I might as well just set the camera going.

I missed one VITAL element...focus.

Set my alarm for 1am and brought the camera in. The moon was up so the images were washed out, but a quick preview in the dark and my heart dropped to see everything so out of focus. What a noob!! Funnily enough, I picked up something I can't for the life of me explain. I'll still put the shots together into an animation or something, and pop it onto YouTube, but I'll explain what happened, in case someone knows what it was.

So, the stars are moving up slightly on the image, the occasional cloud is moving top-left to bottom-right. I get the odd streak here and there of a plane, or perhaps a satellite, and the very occasional line of a meteor perhaps. But I notice one line appearing on two, three or even four frames, first dim, then brighter, then dimming again. Surely a streak can't stay in the sky for one or two minutes?! But then I notice a streak appear and stay for FIFTY frames!! That's 25 minutes.

Something on the lens I think. But no, it moves very slightly, and not with the stars and nor with the clouds. Very odd. I'll go and sort the video out...

Ah, I know what it was...some sort of lens flare or internal reflection from the moon. The moon must've just about entered shot in the corner of the frame, for about 25 minutes, and it was that that caused the weird line.

[hollis_f]

Saw a couple of bright Perseids, but they were too close to that annoying Moon to shoot. The only image I did get isn't even a Perseid - it was travelling in the wrong direction!

http://www.frankhollis.com/temp/Perseid.jpg

[bmxfro]

Quite clear last night, so after having taken a few shots of my scopes and mount with a view to advertising them for sale, I flicked to MF, Manual, 30", burst shooting on, made sure mirror lock-up was off, fired off a test shot of the sky, and though it was still twilight and I could see the stars on the preview I thought I might as well just set the camera going.

I missed one VITAL element...focus.

Set my alarm for 1am and brought the camera in. The moon was up so the images were washed out, but a quick preview in the dark and my heart dropped to see everything so out of focus. What a noob!! Funnily enough, I picked up something I can't for the life of me explain. I'll still put the shots together into an animation or something, and pop it onto YouTube, but I'll explain what happened, in case someone knows what it was.

So, the stars are moving up slightly on the image, the occasional cloud is moving top-left to bottom-right. I get the odd streak here and there of a plane, or perhaps a satellite, and the very occasional line of a meteor perhaps. But I notice one line appearing on two, three or even four frames, first dim, then brighter, then dimming again. Surely a streak can't stay in the sky for one or two minutes?! But then I notice a streak appear and stay for FIFTY frames!! That's 25 minutes.

Something on the lens I think. But no, it moves very slightly, and not with the stars and nor with the clouds. Very odd. I'll go and sort the video out...

Ah, I know what it was...some sort of lens flare or internal reflection from the moon. The moon must've just about entered shot in the corner of the frame, for about 25 minutes, and it was that that caused the weird line.

It seems what you got was a UFO teasing the fact that you were out of focus!!!

[Biffbradford]

3:35am local. Going to bed. I took some time out to set my laptop to shoot for me. I never did this before but it's cool! 40D and tripod are sitting in the car, looking out the window (heavy dew tonight) aim is almost straight up with 18mm lens. Laptop set for 400 more 30sec. exposures. Will check it out later! Zzzzzzzz ....

[wickerprints]

Sucked. Too much light pollution. Drove 40 miles and the night sky was still bathed in city lights. And the moon was way, way, way too bright.

[Evil_Edge]

i tried :(

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3508/3814403776_c304ac7f9d_b.jpg

this one you can just barely see
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3439/3814403876_2c9730f304_b.jpg

[Pricey]

I'm going to go down and sit on the beach tonight as that should be the best place. Is it more closer to midnight? Or best from anytime say, after 10PM?

[DHMN]

There's a thread for pics only .....

I tried.. spend 2+ hours out in the darkest place I could find and the moon made that too bright (i grew up out in the sticks.. why couldn't I have been there tonight?).. then I'd see one and aim in that vicinity and 10 minutes later the next one woudl be back where I had been.. I need a shorter/wider lens or maybe should have taken out the 18-55 kit lens from the closet.. Shot with my 55-135 F2.8.. next time I'm going for the cheap kit lens unless I buy something else before the next chance. The only thing worse than just missing a bunch of times.. was the mosquitoes, they were enough to decide to not give it a shot at the 2nd chances tomorrow night/morning!.. Then when 2 seagulls showed up I knew it was time to take the drive home.

Even with failing to capture a picture of a meteor streaking through the sky it was a learning experience for a first time, and I got some in focus pictures of stars anyway, and a few things I played around with while setting up the tripod.

[hollis_f]

Sucked. Too much light pollution. Drove 40 miles and the night sky was still bathed in city lights. And the moon was way, way, way too bright.

At least there's no Moon for next year's Perseids.

[DrFil]

boo, things were looking good early on and i saw some nice meteors, but then when i set up my camera, clouds covered everything within 15 minutes and i got no meteor pictures :(

oh well, this is what I was pointing at... towards the east, i believe. can anyone tell me if i was even pointing the right way? like...can you recognize any constellations here? thanks.
http://www.filipbartnik.com/images/POTN/perseidsattempt.jpg

[Maureen Souza]

There is no right way..... the showers are just random throughout the sky, to my best of knowledge.

[DrFil]

well...not according to nasa. but i can't read the constellations for the life of me (except for the big & little dippers, haha!) there're sooo many stars.
http://science.nasa.gov/headlines/y2009/images/perseids2009/perseid_map2.gif
(i'm probably not supposed to embed other people's pictures am i? but just thought it would be easier).

[Maureen Souza]

I just go out and watch them every year... I didn't realize you had to look in a specific direction, LOL.

[wickerprints]

At least there's no Moon for next year's Perseids.

Next year, I am going to find the darkest, most isolated place in North America and go there. I have all year to find it. But with my luck, I bet there will be thousands of people with the exact same idea doing the same thing. :p

[huyness]

i didn't get any falling stars in my shot, but i got this image of my friend lying on the ground while there were some frat kids playing with a glowing frisbee. I made the picture brighter in photoshop

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2525/3814541924_0febf2aebd_b.jpg

[Adrena1in]

Have uploaded my video. It's rubbish, but if there *were* any bright Perseids I think I would have captured them.

http://www.vimeo.com/6064087

One at 6 seconds perhaps.
One at 11 seconds, just before the flash at the bottom right, (me using my phone to check for dew!)
Little one at 32 seconds?

[Sky of the Plains]

Seen 217 Perseids in 6 hours, well actually 217 meteors, probably 50 or so weren't Perseids, got maybe a dozen of them on film, they are just too dim to do any good.

[Karl Johnston]

I got so many great shots tonight guys...saw the persaids! They were beautiful. I only managed to capture a couple of shots and some satellites, though. Will post a big selection of images to come in the main forums, though, and probably my website too :)

Tons. And tons of auroras though! I had to stop because the sky was BLEACHED with aurora and then the clouds came - a lightning storm was happening (yes I captured lightning and auroras and a persaids meteor AND an outcrop of notilucent louds!) :D Can't wait to share!

I saw about 12 persaids between 12-3 am
Large percentage around the big dipper region

[gshappell]

Totally cloudy from 6pm through this morning for me(Maryland). Stayed up until midnight and then gave up to the clouds. Hope to see some good shots posted!

[alt4852]

Totally cloudy from 6pm through this morning for me(Maryland). Stayed up until midnight and then gave up to the clouds. Hope to see some good shots posted!

yea, rockville was completely overcast. i saw the 30% thunderstorm forecast throughout the evening and didn't even bother. if there was a break in the clouds, it'd be a far shot that i'd be able to see any this year. :(

[Celestron]

At least there's no Moon for next year's Perseids.


Well the Leonids is the next show this year coming November 18th . I don't think theres a moon for that either . That use to be the best show of them all but the last few years it's been quite . I saw several brightand good ones last night and managed to capture 2 really dim ones . Will post them later cause i have to go to work :( . Had lots of clouds high and thin . Stars showed well but covered most dim meteors :( .

[GoHokiesGo]

Totally cloudy from 6pm through this morning for me(Maryland). Stayed up until midnight and then gave up to the clouds. Hope to see some good shots posted!

Same here as well in VA. We were at my parents floating in their pool (My AC broke this week at my place, ahh!), and kept waiting for the clouds to break. We were all excited to float around and watch the meteor shower, but oh well.

[BSGp8ntball]

well, I had the camera going from midnight to 7:00 this morning. I lost a half hour between 4:30 and 5:00. Had the 40D on a tripod with a USB extension running out the window. Set up the camera in the door of my tool shed and used my computer to remote control it. I varied between 15 and 90 sec exposures with most being in the 30 second range. I averaged over 75% exposure to transfer/down time. That means over the peak time of midnight to 5 (-1/2 hour for dead battery) That is 4.5 hours with approx 3.5 hours of it caught on film. I got ONE shot it was early in the night and it ran into the roof of my house (not literally just intersected in the photo). I am tired and a bit disappointed :(

[boufa]

Rough night, sat alone, in a a deserted park, a little too close to the city (I tried to get further, but it was the only park that they would approve).
It rained, has a steady stream of clouds, just broken enough that it kept me from going home. Contended with a heavy fog bank, that rolled in for about 30 minutes, but did get about 52 sightings, and 4 captured photos. The moon was the biggest draw back however, since it illuminated the moisture in the air, and made the cloud cover worse than it was.

[paulie8pointer]

Here is my attempt right before sunrise

http://img23.imageshack.us/img23/8059/img4047t.jpg

[alt4852]

Here is my attempt right before sunrise

you sure that's not a plane? ;)

[paulie8pointer]

you sure that's not a plane? ;)

I am sure it's not a plane.............I saw this one enter. I was using a 30 sec exposure and I did capture a few planes and satellites and they made it almost across pic - plus you could tell when there flashing lights would go on and off and this has none of that.

[ejicon]

From what I understand, we'll have another attempt to see Perseids meteor tonight between 11pm-2am local time. Will check em out. Also:
"As the moon wanes towards new moon on Aug. 20 it passes a series of markers. Most spectacularly, on the morning of Friday Aug. 14 it moves directly in front of the Pleiades star cluster. This cluster is the brightest "deep sky object" in the sky, readily seen with the naked eye even in the city. With binoculars it is a glittering jewel box. As the moon passes in front of it, the stars of the cluster will be covered by the leading edge of the moon (on the lower left) and uncovered by the trailing edge (on the upper right). Watch it for a few minutes, and you should see this celestial disappearing act."

taken from Space.com

[Celestron]

From what I understand, we'll have another attempt to see Perseids meteor tonight between 11pm-2am local time. Will check em out. Also:
"As the moon wanes towards new moon on Aug. 20 it passes a series of markers. Most spectacularly, on the morning of Friday Aug. 14 it moves directly in front of the Pleiades star cluster. This cluster is the brightest "deep sky object" in the sky, readily seen with the naked eye even in the city. With binoculars it is a glittering jewel box. As the moon passes in front of it, the stars of the cluster will be covered by the leading edge of the moon (on the lower left) and uncovered by the trailing edge (on the upper right). Watch it for a few minutes, and you should see this celestial disappearing act."

taken from Space.com

According to SpaceWeather (http://www.spaceweather.com/) thats correct and they say it maybe even better . Seems this thread has been moved by a Moderator so now for this special event ppl will not be able to read other info because few come to this section of Celestial talk for main event answers . I just hope others will know it's happening tonight again and maybe better .

[hollis_f]

it's happening tonight again and maybe better .

Not here in the SE of the UK. 100% cloud at the moment (22:30 local). And it don't look like clearing. Still, I could do with the sleep after being up half of last night.

[dollei]

I got nothing last night. Only was at my spot for about half an hour before the cops came and told us we couldn't park there because "it's dangerous and there's a no parking sign." Ended up getting a $50 parking ticket along with about 20 other cars. Oh well, maybe next year... There were a few I caught while the camera was on its 30sec exposure, but they were all too light for my 17-40 to pick up :(

[Biffbradford]

I'm hitting the shore overlooking a very dark Lake Michigan first. Then, when the moon rises, it's off to the sod farms 10 miles inland where the closest tree is a mile away (also quite dark). Will run my 40D off the laptop and my Sony DSC-H9 with wide lens manually. When I poop out, I'll set up the 40D in the backyard (city) and just point up for the rest of the night. Hope I get something!

[boufa]

I'm hitting the shore overlooking a very dark Lake Michigan first. Then, when the moon rises, it's off to the sod farms 10 miles inland where the closest tree is a mile away (also quite dark). Will run my 40D off the laptop and my Sony DSC-H9 with wide lens manually. When I poop out, I'll set up the 40D in the backyard (city) and just point up for the rest of the night. Hope I get something!

While not quite the same locations, the idea is the same. I will be heading out to a hopefully dark Lake Erie tonight, and then set up in the backyard. Have seen a few in the backyard, but none have been caught by the camera.

I'll look West down the lake shore and wave.... maybe you'll see me :lol:

[Biffbradford]

http://emoticons4u.com/happy/042.gif

Better report tomorrow but my final score is: 100 thirty seconds shots = 4 airplanes, 3 boats, 2 nosy cats, and 1 Perseid Meteor. Lots of fun though.

[john-in-japan]

A question, with so many 30 second + exposures in a row, is there any concern over overloading the sensor and damaging it? Overheating? Foolish question perhaps. Is this a legitimate concern?
John

[DHMN]

http://emoticons4u.com/happy/042.gif

Better report tomorrow but my final score is: 100 thirty seconds shots = 4 airplanes, 3 boats, 2 nosy cats, and 1 Perseid Meteor. Lots of fun though.

I had.. a very large lady and her kid walking their 2 dogs at 2:30 am.. the kid had a small radio too.. then the neighbor lady hacking up a lung (a non-smoker too!)..and 1 cat... and a few hundred mosquitos but much better than last night .. sort of have the idea now.. got 2 meteor.. and a satellite that could almost pass for one except for the very longggg trail .. posted those in the pics thread along with what I think is the Perseid constellation but I have no real clue on that ;)

[Adrena1in]

...posted those in the pics thread along with what I think is the Perseid constellation but I have no real clue on that ;)

No, that "constellation" you're talking about is not a constellation, but an open cluster...probably the most famous of them all, called The Pleiades. You captured Perseus on your first image though. See where the meteor trail starts? Look right and there's a triangle of three bright stars. This is the lower part of Perseus. :smile:

[Biffbradford]

A question, with so many 30 second + exposures in a row, is there any concern over overloading the sensor and damaging it? Overheating? Foolish question perhaps. Is this a legitimate concern?
John

There isn't that much light hitting the sensor. File sizes are half of a daytime exposure. I dunno, I look at it as a tool - if it wasn't made to do it the manual would say don't do it! :D

[boufa]

Much better last night, thank you all for encouraging me to go out. Saw hundreds, took 700 shots, captured 37, with 5 fairly bright ones. Posted them in the other thread.

The thing I realized, is that you have to meter for the shooting star, NOT everything else... though the other stuff does cause limitations.

Let me explain my thinking, a shooting star is the target, and it has a built in shutter speed, that cannot be changed... aka the amount of time it is glowing. I found that you have to set the camera as sensitive as possible, to capture the faint light in the short amount of time that the light is being produced.

I used 3200 iso (yea noise, but I am not printing the images) with the most wide open I could get, 10 mm lens with f4.0 for me. That will allow the camera to capture the faintest objects possible.

Now as for the shutter speed, it is a balance, based on keeping the sky dark, and not letting in soooo much light that a faint streak is washed out by the background light. In my case I used 10 - 15 seconds (mostly 10).

Could you capture a normal brightness star at iso 100, and a shutter speed of 1/2 second? Depends on the lens, but I doubt, it, yet 1/2 second or less is all of the light that you are getting from many shooting stars. Would making a 30 second exposure capture that star IF it was only there for 1/2 second... No, it would not. The advantage of 30 seconds is that it reduces some of the luck factor, the longer you are open the more chances you have to capture that 1/2 second. But what if that 1/2 second is wiped out by the glow of the night sky? All you need is the 1/2 second..the properly timed 1/2 second when there is a shooting star.

That was my shooting logic, most sensitive possible settings (fast iso, wide open) and keep the sky reasonably dark.

[Adrena1in]

I hope I get another chance tonight.

Earlier today I was reading about the 1966 Perseid shower. Can you believe they counted 144,000 meteors per hour!? 144,000!! That's 40 every second!!! Must've seemed like the world was coming to an end!!

[Celestron]

I hope I get another chance tonight.

Earlier today I was reading about the 1966 Perseid shower. Can you believe they counted 144,000 meteors per hour!? 144,000!! That's 40 every second!!! Must've seemed like the world was coming to an end!!

I went out last night but not as good as what was thought to be . I saw maybe 15-20 for the hour and took alot of picts , captured 2 dim ones and some kind of satellite but i searched HA and couldn't find anything about it . Kinda strange too , had a amber glow instead of white light as usual . Anyway if you have no luck tonight the Leonids are coming November 18th . Hopefully it will be good and best thing is no moon :D !!

[Biffbradford]

http://emoticons4u.com/happy/042.gif

Better report tomorrow but my final score is: 100 thirty seconds shots = 4 airplanes, 3 boats, 2 nosy cats, and 1 Perseid Meteor. Lots of fun though.

Yeah, so the Lake Michigan shore was a bust. I noticed the clouds as I left home and just checked the closest access to the lake, not going to my intended shore location. There were some stars visible, but it just wasn't worth pursuing. It was pretty with the power plant over there, boat lights in the water, planes flying over the lake. That was not the goal though, so I moved on.

(Clickable thumbs)

http://i219.photobucket.com/albums/cc54/biffbradford/th_Soystars4.jpg (http://s219.photobucket.com/albums/cc54/biffbradford/?action=view&current=Soystars4.jpg)

Wouldn't you know it, just as I was ready to leave for my inland spot, a BLUE WHIZZER went right overhead!!

http://i219.photobucket.com/albums/cc54/biffbradford/th_Soystars3.jpg (http://s219.photobucket.com/albums/cc54/biffbradford/?action=view&current=Soystars3.jpg)

Oh, it was a landing jet? Oh well. :confused:

Fortunately, my inland location was just outside the cloud zone and I was able to park next to a soybean field here it was pretty dark.

http://i219.photobucket.com/albums/cc54/biffbradford/th_Soystars.jpg (http://s219.photobucket.com/albums/cc54/biffbradford/?action=view&current=Soystars.jpg)

I aimed the camera to the south - southwest and shot 100. Saw three, captured none. It was fun trying though.


http://i219.photobucket.com/albums/cc54/biffbradford/th_Soystars2.jpg (http://s219.photobucket.com/albums/cc54/biffbradford/?action=view&current=Soystars2.jpg)

I may try again tonight at a different, darkest yet location if there's no clouds at all (50 minute drive).

Will see how it goes.

[Biffbradford]

Okay, I'm at it again from the back yard. 5 second exposures @ 800 iso. f 2.8. 18mm lens. Looks good on the laptop screen. Caught one satellite so far. Oh, and my focus looks best right at the end stop. If nothing else, I'll wear out my 40D faster so I can upgrade. :D

[alt4852]

Okay, I'm at it again from the back yard. 5 second exposures @ 800 iso. f 2.8. 18mm lens. Looks good on the laptop screen. Caught one satellite so far. Oh, and my focus looks best right at the end stop. If nothing else, I'll wear out my 40D faster so I can upgrade. :D

best of luck to you buddy. i've got nothing but cloud cover here in the greater washington dc area. :(

[DHMN]

I had thoughts of another night staying out until 4 am.. but luckily there is cloud cover to give me reason to go to bed tonight after 2 night that late! I definitely need to buy a short fast lens come next time we get an opportunity at these meteors!

[Biffbradford]

300 shots so far. Six planes and two satellites. Cool, clear skies here tonight. I'll keep 'er going.

I'm moving my aim to the south. Reading Sky and Telescope (http://www.skyandtelescope.com/observing/home/53130952.html) and looking at this photo, straight up is not a good idea.

http://www.cloudbait.com/science/2009perseids.jpg

[Biffbradford]

Bah!

8 planes
4 satellites
2 raccoons
1 cat
1 bat
0 meteors
Good night. http://img442.imageshack.us/img442/3589/aesleepingju3.gif