Perseid Meteor Showers

 

 Catch a Falling Star Over Walker Lake

The week of August 8th, the Perseid meteor show is due to peak between August 12th and 13th, becoming more spectacular in the early morning hours before dawn.  The greatest difficulty with this spectacular meteor show is the light from a Waxing Gibbous or nearly full moon and of course favorable meteorological conditions  with clear skies and calm winds. 

I chose to take my chances with the meteors on the morning of August 11th. because the moon was due to set around 3am.  I arose at 2:35am and when I went outside, the sky was very light even though the moon had already dropped behind the mountains to the west.  Just as I was setting up my camera, I saw several brilliant star trails streak across the northeastern sky. 

To try and photo the meteors, I selected my wide angle Nikon 24mm 2.8 lens.  Using a cable release on the Nikon D90, I set the program on manual and the shutter on bulb so that I could control the speed.  From past experience, I can get a 10-20 second exposure with the D90 without too much digital noise.  For these night photos, I set the aperture at f/8 and the ISO was on 200.  I also used my heaviest Bogan tripod to prevent as much camera as possible.

  

Around 3:35am, the sky to the northeast began to darken and I was all set up, ready for action.  The radius point where the meteors will originate is in the constellation Perseus, just below the Cassiopeia's W in the Northeast sky. However in the early dawn, I noticed shooting stars in all directions of the sky.  The problem is being able to catch the meteor trail during a 10-20 second shutter opening.  

I did manage to capture one nice meteor trail to the east just before dawn. 

 Once the eastern sky began to lighten with dawn quickly approaching, I could not resist to take more photos in the starlit sky.

 

 With dawn's light accenting Walker Lake, I walked to get a closer image of the early morning light.

 

For more information:
http://stardate.org/nightsky/meteors

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What an exciting and interesting photo-adventure this day has been.  I love it when I am drawn to an area and not knowing what to expect I get treated to new experiences. 

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Photography places me in the moment where I can share that moment in time. It becomes a life story as represented by my interaction with the scene. The happiness and beauty or the sorrow and strife; how I focus leaves a lasting impression that might touch the viewer on a spiritual level.

 "Reflecting Nature's Artistry" 

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