Perseid Meteor Shower 2008 / 2013 *PIC (9K) *

[rkawakami]

I'm sitting in my back yard at the moment (1am PDT; 61F) in a partially comfy fold-up chair with an X22, staring deep into the northeastern sky. It's time again for the yearly Perseid Showers:

http://www.spacedaily.com/reports/The_2 ... r_999.html

It's a few hours before the best viewing time (~4am) but I'm not going to be staying up that late, er..., early. There's been a couple of very visible streaks that have come through in the last 20 minutes so I'm happy with this year's show. If there's anyone who is up this late on the East Coast and it's warm enough to go outside for 10 or 15 minutes, take a look towards the northeast.

[sarbin]

cloudy here.

[mikey pizano]

Missed it here!

[BeeJayEmm]

Missed it here!

Keep looking up. Last night was peak viewing but the shower will continue for days/weeks with lessening intensity.

Brian

[rkawakami]

Four year update :

Early morning August 12, 2012:

Click on image for full sized version (2048 x 1536; 910KB)

Took this using a tripod mounted Canon A510 set at 15 second exposure, F2.6 and ISO200 looking eastward. Had to take about 100 random shots before getting this one. Saw about 7 really good examples of cosmic dust entering the atmosphere.

[BillMorrow]

good shot..

i've been up to lick on mt. hamilton with friends taking star shots..
manually following to compensate for earths rotation..

met a really big brown and bellicose tarantula that one time..

[rkawakami]

Another August... time again to re-visit this thread....

Good conditions for viewing tonight. Moon has set and there's none of the typical summertime fog (yet) rolling over the Santa Cruz Mountains. Hope to set up my tripod again in a few hours and see if I can get some more pictures. Perseus is in the Northeastern sky, which from my backyard is looking towards the lights of downtown San Jose.

[Thinkpaddict]

Another August... time again to re-visit this thread....

Good conditions for viewing tonight. Moon has set and there's none of the typical summertime fog (yet) rolling over the Santa Cruz Mountains. Hope to set up my tripod again in a few hours and see if I can get some more pictures. Perseus is in the Northeastern sky, which from my backyard is looking towards the lights of downtown San Jose.

That makes such a huge difference. The sky never looks the same after you have been to a desolated area in high mountains with clear sky and no moon.

Looking forward to see what you come up with though!

[rkawakami]

Saw four bright streaks in the space of about 25 minutes but either wasn't pointing the camera at the right spot or the shutter hadn't been tripped. I'm going to try again tonight/tomorrow morning. Did manage to fake a "meteor trail" by photographing a plane though

[Thinkpaddict]

Good luck with that! Just wondering, are you shooting with a wide angle to give you a better chance of catching something?

I'm going out tomorrow with my wife to a peak nearby where we live. Not sure if it will be too late though. They say Perseids were crossing nearby from August 11 to August 13. We'll have to see.

[rkawakami]

Using a simple point-and-shoot; 3.2MP Canon A510 set at widest field of view (5.8mm) and timed exposures from 10 to 15 seconds at F2.8 and ISO 200. Point upward, press the shutter and hope I catch something.

[rkawakami]

Alas, no luck for a photo of the Perseids this year. Saw 5 or 6 flashes early this morning (2am) but didn't catch them on the camera.

[BillMorrow]

ray, what you need is a camera mounted to a reflecting telescope..

and there you have my entire knowledge of current technology for star shots..

not sure how a digital camera (or pickup) reacts to opening the shutter and following very dim starlight for a picture of faraway stars..