Author Topic: Perseids Meteor Shower  (Read 2471 times)

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Offline PaulMy

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Perseids Meteor Shower
« on: August 09, 2015, 10:06:22 PM »
I may finally get to see some this week http://www.space.com/30140-moonless-meteor-shower-+-all-major-planets-august-2015-skywatching-video.html as we will be at the cottage with near total darkness.  Now if I could only get up at 4:00 am.

Paul

Offline Intheswamp

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Re: Perseids Meteor Shower
« Reply #1 on: August 09, 2015, 11:32:24 PM »
I'm hoping the weather cooperates with us.  Currently partly-cloudy conditions are predicted.  We've been getting lots of pop-up thunderstorms that are encouraged by the high heat we've been experiencing.  Humidity is thick which makes the atmosphere hazy.   Hopefully, we'll get a shot at seeing some...I'd like to get some photos.

Interestingly, the last several showers that we've had decent skies for have been rather lackluster. I'm hoping this one will be better (if we can see it).

Hope you see a pile of'em, Paul!!!!

Ed

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Offline nincehelser

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Re: Perseids Meteor Shower
« Reply #2 on: August 12, 2015, 08:58:37 AM »
I happened to go out early this morning just as a sliver of the moon was rising.  Since the peak is expected this evening (12th/13th) I thought I watch for a few minutes.

I saw two very impressive fireballs within a few seconds of each other.  They were going different directions radiating from the same point in the northeast (i.e. Persius).  It would have made a fantastic single-shot image, but of course I didn't have my camera set up.

Hopefully the weather will hold and I'll set my camera up for tonight.  If what I saw this morning is a representative preview, it should be a great show.

Offline Skyview

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Re: Perseids Meteor Shower
« Reply #3 on: August 12, 2015, 02:07:51 PM »
Hopefully the weather will hold and I'll set my camera up for tonight.  If what I saw this morning is a representative preview, it should be a great show.

What type of setup will you use to capture?

Offline nincehelser

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Re: Perseids Meteor Shower
« Reply #4 on: August 12, 2015, 02:36:27 PM »
Hopefully the weather will hold and I'll set my camera up for tonight.  If what I saw this morning is a representative preview, it should be a great show.

What type of setup will you use to capture?

I use a Canon t3i running Magic Lantern taking 30-second exposures as often as possible.  I usually use a fish-eye lens to cover the most sky, but I might try something different tonight.

Offline Skyview

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Re: Perseids Meteor Shower
« Reply #5 on: August 12, 2015, 05:02:54 PM »
I use a Canon t3i running Magic Lantern taking 30-second exposures as often as possible.  I usually use a fish-eye lens to cover the most sky, but I might try something different tonight.

Thanks. I have no idea what Magic Lantern is but google is my friend. If you have any recommendations for a newbie at photography in terms of the fish-eye lenses I would appreciate it.

Offline Intheswamp

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Re: Perseids Meteor Shower
« Reply #6 on: August 13, 2015, 12:00:36 PM »
One from last night.  I saw several but the good ones were few and usually not in front of my camera.  This was basic, press-the-shutter for 15-18 second exposures at f2.8-f3.5.  (ETA:  This was shot looking due *west*!)  Used a Samyang 14mm lens for this shot.  Not the best, but what I got...it'll look better if viewed on Flickr...check out the different colors in the meteor. :)  I've got another one I want to investigate later one...I think I caught several frames of vapor trail...???Perseids Meteor 2015 by Intheswamp, on Flickr

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Offline ggsteve

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Re: Perseids Meteor Shower
« Reply #7 on: August 13, 2015, 12:16:49 PM »
Saw one last night while watching the ISS flyover.  It got cloudy when I went out later on.  I hope for clear skies tonight!

Offline Intheswamp

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Re: Perseids Meteor Shower
« Reply #8 on: August 14, 2015, 10:07:03 AM »
I went back out early last night and saw some bright flashes of lightning coming from over the eastern horizon...some type of heat-lightning(?) I guess.  I detected a bit of haziness in the sky.  I did see a couple of meteors, but nothing that prompted me to stay outside. A couple of hours later I went back outside and the haziness/humidity was apparently higher as stars were not as sharp and the lower magnitude ones were coming and going visually.  I see now that rain chances are increasing for the next week so I figure this was some moisture arriving ahead of that system.  We've had some high heat over the last week or so but also some nice sunsets.  Yesterday morning I noticed the clouds were "different"...rather than our normally fluffy cumulus clouds these were more of a stratus or stratocumulus type...long, stretched out, flat, but still will slight fluffiness to them.  Interesting change.

Ed

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Offline PaulMy

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Re: Perseids Meteor Shower
« Reply #9 on: August 16, 2015, 07:51:54 PM »
Nice shot Ed!

We just got back home and no pictures, BUT on Aug 11 (Tuesday night) saw lots of activity - beautiful night sky in total darkness over the lake.  First one I ever saw was excellent and lasted for 3 to 5 seconds sparkling down similar to fireworks (I was following an airplane and then all of a sudden thought it had exploded and falling as that was very near the same direction as that first one).  Then several a minute smaller flashes over about 135 degrees of the sky.  That first one was bright enough that our granddaughter who was inside the cottage ran outside and said "what was that?"

Unfortunately overcast on Wednesday and Thursday and nothing to be seen on Friday and Saturday nights.

Paul

Offline Intheswamp

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Re: Perseids Meteor Shower
« Reply #10 on: August 17, 2015, 07:04:43 AM »
Thanks, Paul!  I took a ton of shots to get that one, there's a few more that are fairly decent but that's probably the best one out of the batch.

It sounds like you might have hit a nice patch of debris on the 11th.  That bright meteor may have been a "bolide"...much larger and longer lasting that a regular meteor.  I've seen only two of them in my life...not that I'm out every night looking, but I tend to gaze heavenward if it's a clear night and I'm outside.  Did you perchance see a smoke trail behind it?  The will be streaking brightly and then just kind of break up in small "explosions".  Very cool to see. 

I had a friend of mine visit us from Chicago....I had him out in the backyard showing him all the stars and pointed up to the north star.  Naturally his eyes following my pointing finger.  Suddenly, as if on command, a bolide streaked across the sky where I was pointed.  He was already amazed at all the stars, but when he saw that it really didn't bring a lot of response from him...it was kind of like "oh, so that's a shooting star".  #-o  For me, knowing the rarity of seeing bolides (for me, anyhow) it was a great treat.  \:D/

Another treat was "around" 1974 while I was in highschool.  Me and a friend were riding around one night when we saw some "shooting stars".  They were like a swarm of bees.  We were actually coming off of a dirt road onto a paved road where the dirt road was slanted upwards so we stopped right there with inclined seats and had a magnificent show for the next thirty minutes or so.  The meteors were in a concentrated area of the sky that was viewed within the confines of the cars hood (how ever wide of a a field of view that is).  At any one time we could see a dozen or more meteors...it was simply amazing.  I've never witnessed anything like that since then and have no idea what celestial event it was...back then information of that type wasn't readily available (no internet, no abundance of books, etc.,)...and I can't remember what time of year or the exact year.  It was a neat experience, though!!!

Ed


Nice shot Ed!

We just got back home and no pictures, BUT on Aug 11 (Tuesday night) saw lots of activity - beautiful night sky in total darkness over the lake.  First one I ever saw was excellent and lasted for 3 to 5 seconds sparkling down similar to fireworks (I was following an airplane and then all of a sudden thought it had exploded and falling as that was very near the same direction as that first one).  Then several a minute smaller flashes over about 135 degrees of the sky.  That first one was bright enough that our granddaughter who was inside the cottage ran outside and said "what was that?"

Unfortunately overcast on Wednesday and Thursday and nothing to be seen on Friday and Saturday nights.

Paul

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Offline PaulMy

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Offline nincehelser

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Re: Perseids Meteor Shower
« Reply #12 on: August 18, 2015, 03:49:36 AM »
"Bolides" or fireballs are about all I really pay attention to.

Here's one from the recent Persieds I caught on camera. 

Seeing them in real life, they look much like a firework.