OT: We've got a meteor shower coming up...

[Spacehead]

... so step away from that monitor for awhile, go outside & have some fun under the stars.

The Perseid meteor shower peaks on August 12-13, so if it's clear in your area go out any of the nights of the 11th, 12th or 13th.
I went out last night to watch a -5 magnitude Iridium flare & saw several meteors. One nice thing about the Perseids is that they are strung out over about a 2 week period, so realy any clear night you'll probably see more meteors than usual a week before & after the peak dates.

The Perseids shower is caused by the Earth passing thru the dusty trail left by comet Swift-Tuttle. During peak times you can usually expect to see 75-100 meteors an hour.

More info on the Perseids


I've already scheduled to have off Thursday & Friday so hopefully the weather will cooperate this year. Last year was a dud... completely clouded over those nights Only saw one about a week after peak.

 

[networkman]

Got my soap and rubber ducky all ready to go!

Hehe.. seriously though, the weather folks are forecasting a good chance of rain showers for much of next week along with significant cloud cover in my area. Hopefully, they'll clear out in time.

 

[Wolfsraider]

Great news Spacehead.

I wish I had a camera good enough for the occasion
LOL and share your pics with the team,you can email them to me at wolfsraider @ wolfsraider .com
no spaces, or post them at http://teamatpics.reddeyexpress.com

It does require you to register if you are not already registered though

Mike

 

[ProviaFan]

I may try some photography for the occasion, if the weather cooperates in my area. Any camera tips, Spacehead? A telescope is not an option in my arsenal, but between wide angle, normal, and mid-tele (200mm), which would you recommend? I'm assuming a cable release and time exposures (how long? minutes? hours?) will be the norm... I'm probably going to use ISO 50 film (Velvia) since that's what's in the camera now and I have a good bit of the roll left, but I could always shoot that up beforehand and use some 100 speed (Provia 100F) instead if you think that would work better.

Thanks for the info.

 

[Coquito]

Looks clear for the next couple of days, so I guess I'll have a nice 2am bbq & see what's up.

 

[Spacehead]

jliechty,
What i know about photography i could fit in a thimble & there would still be extra room
but i've sent a message asking about film speed, exposure time, etc, to some one who would know so i'll get back to you on that.
One thing i do know is a telescope is definately not nesessary. For the same reason i'd guess a normal or wide angle lense would do great.

I'm sure you could find some info on the net somewhere too

Originally posted by: networkman
Got my soap and rubber ducky all ready to go!

Well now... that just paints a picture i didn't really need to see :Q

 

[ProviaFan]

Originally posted by: Spacehead
jliechty,
What i know about photography i could fit in a thimble & there would still be extra room
but i've sent a message asking about film speed, exposure time, etc, to some one who would know so i'll get back to you on that.
One thing i do know is a telescope is definately not nesessary. For the same reason i'd guess a normal or wide angle lense would do great.

I'm sure you could find some info on the net somewhere too

Yeah, I should just get off my lazy rear and google Photo.net for some info... thinking about it, I'm certain that tons of people have done this already, so most likely a few of them were thoughtful to record their experiences in writing for the benefit of the rest of us.

Edit for a few links to start off with. I'll have to do some more research later, and will need some time to think this through, because there are about as many opinions on proper exposure of meteors as there are photographers who do this kind of stuff.

One
Two

 

[Wolfsraider]

If I still had my setup I would grab some asa 400 film and a tripod, head to a hilltop with an unobstructed view and very little lighting and use a 130 mm lens or better.As it is though it looks like I will be using a kodak advantics(sp) unless I can find new batteries for the "good" camera lol.
I hope its clear here in seattle

Mike

 

[Twioz]

Incedently August 12th is a national holiday, it is in fact why the perseids meteor shower come on that day. This year will be the 33rd annual celebration. I refer to the day as My Birthday

 

[Spacehead]

One of the photo experienced guys in our astro club got back to me, here's what he had to say.

I use a normal 50 mm lens as opposed to a 28 mm wide angle, where the meteor
has to be super-bright to catch anything...so 50 mm lens, shutter wide
open for
anywhere from 5 to 20 minutes, depending on how great his light
pollution....
obviously you want to do this in a very dark sky, at least like our
observing site, to prevent fogging of film....
and as for film, you need at least 800 ASA film (or even faster, as fast
as 3200 if
possible), and wide open f1.8. Tripod mounted, cable release.

ASA 50 or even 100 won't cut it; it may not even record the brighter stars!!
I use at least ASA 800....same for aurora too, only there
you use
30 seconds to 2 minute time exposures. Kodak GOLD 800 is a good choice.

Hope that helps
Good luck & have fun!


Have a happy born-on-date Twioz :beer:

 

[ProviaFan]

Originally posted by: Spacehead
Hope that helps
Good luck & have fun!

Have a happy born-on-date Twioz :beer:

Yeah, that helps a lot... Thanks.

 

[Dalephi]

Thanks Spacehead! Should make for an interesting evening.



Twioz, enjoy your national holiday!!!!

 

[zodder]

I dig this kind of stuff. Thanks.

 

[Ken g6]

Thanks! I always need a reminder about meteor showers. Unfortunately, I ususally don't stay up late enough (e.g. 2am) to see the best show.

As for photography, use a short exposure(~ 1 minute), wide apeture if you want to get the stars and not the meteors. Use the reverse to get meteors and/or star trails (as the Earth turns the stars appear to rotate about the north pole.)

 

[dmcowen674]

Originally posted by: Coquito
Looks clear for the next couple of days, so I guess I'll have a nice 2am bbq & see what's up.

Looks like will be dealing with 2 Tropical Storms here

Got 6 inches of rain in 2 hours yesterday, water was 1 inch from coming in the house.

I'll post some pics and video when I get my desktop up and running.

 

[Spacehead]

PERSEID METEORS: The Perseid meteor shower peaks this week. Look for rare
but lovely Perseid Earthgrazers when the sun goes down on Wednesday,
August 11th. Then, before dawn on Thursday, August 12th, go outside for
the main event: as many as 60 meteors per hour. Getting away from city
lights is a good idea: dark skies reveal more meteors.

VENUS AND THE MOON: Early Thursday morning just before dawn when the
Perseid meteor shower is supposed to be most intense, Venus and the
crescent moon will appear side-by-side in the eastern sky. This lovely
pair would be worth waking up for even if there were no meteor shower.
Check SpaceWeather.com for a sky map.

BIG SUNSPOT: Sunspot 649, which unleashed several powerful solar flares
in July, is back and it's growing again. The large spot has a complex
magnetic field that harbors energy for X-class solar flares. It's easy to
see, but never look directly at the blinding sun. Check SpaceWeather.com
for safe solar observing tips.

In 2000 i was at an outdoor concert the night of the Perseids & we had a minor auroral disply that night too. That'd be cool if it could happen again.

According to the hippy-dippy weatherman it appears a Canadian high is on it's way, so there may be hope for this area yet

 

[networkman]

It's so cloudy over here, we can't see the sun.

I sure hope it's still there! :Q

 

[SinfulWeeper]

Bahh... been raining for the last 6 days. Seven day forcast says there is still more rain :|
....
....
....
Not that 24 hour light would let me see it anyways . lol

 

[HayHauler]

Too cloudy in Houston to see anything either.

Went outside at midnight last night and saw nothing, not
even any stars, because of the clouds.


:beer: for all.
Hay

 

[Spacehead]

Originally posted by: HayHauler
Went outside at midnight last night and saw nothing, not
even any stars, because of the clouds.

We had the same here in Pa
Started to clear up just before sunset then was completely clouded over by midnight.

Maybe a chance to see more than usual tonight or friday, if not, there's always next year.

 

[ProviaFan]

Things are not looking good for tonight here in IN.