OT: Perseid meteor shower this weekend

[Ginger]

Anyone with plans to go star watching?

http://www.space.com/spacewatch/070712_perseid_meteors.html

This will be my first time out with a digicam along with my usual gear...anyone have any suggestions (other than turn the flash off and use a tripod?) for shooting this stuff with the digi?

Thanks!

[dauwhe]

I climbed to the top of a local mountain one year to watch this. I was transfixed--for a full hour, there was ALWAYS a shooting star to be seen. Just amazing!

What a beautiful world this can be...

Dave

[Your_Friend!]

Ginger!

I am climbing Mount Ranier

This Weekend!

It Will Be So

Clear and Bright!

Love,

Your_Friend!

P.S.

Try 2-3 Minute Exposure!

[michael white]

yep, very clear up there I imagine.

[cadence90]

Absolutely one of my favorite events of the year!
It's amazing. Out here in the desert (Mojave) it really is a stunning sight.

Sorry, I don't have any digital advice. I have used film cameras on tripods, but mainly I just drink, lie back and watch. ;)

[gt6267a]

looks very cool. i am going to check it out.

[Karin Kirk]

Ginger!

I am climbing Mount Ranier

This Weekend!



Wow - good luck, Friend! Dave and I did that as part of our honeymoon. Not very romantic, but certainly memorable. Have a great climb! Cycling fitness and endurance will certainly pay off. The stars while you're climbing at night will be incredible.

Ginger, hope you get some good photos, post them if you do. Usually we just watch by lying on the lawn with sleeping bags. The kitties love to join us.

[Your_Friend!]

Karin!

Thanks For Your Encouragement!

So Great You Went!

It Is A "Favorite_Place"!

It Will Be Special

With the Stars!

Love,
Your_Friend!

[itsflantastic]

Well, I'm psyched. I'll be out of NYC on my bike camping my way up to Maine. Should be away from light pollution by the time I get a chance to see these!!!

PSYCHED!

[dtandy]

Ginger,

If you have a DSLR that has a sceen you can view...when it gets dark, take a few practice exposures of the starry sky using various exposure durations... 10 sec, 30 sec, 1 min and so on at an ASA setting that is reasonably high (800 to 3200??). Depending upon where you are, the image will eventually look foggy as the ambient sky light (aka light pollution!) starts to saturate the image. If you are close a city, the sky will fog quickly, if the sky is very dark, you'll be able to exposure for a longer period of time. You want to pick the longest exposure that looks pleasing to your eye. By having a longer exposure you increase your odds of capturing a meteor trail. I've seen some very nice meteor images at settings of around ASA 1000 with exposures of 1 minute or so. (http://www.eanet.com/kodama/astro/2005/0811/index.htm)

Once you have an ASA and exposure combo that seems about right. Just keep taking images and eventually you'll capture one. The Perseids are supposed to be good this year but, in terms of meteor showers, that means perhaps one meteor per minute or so. Also, they are called the Perseids because the meteors appears to originate from the section of the sky that contains the constellation Perseus. So, point your camera perhaps straight up and not directly at Perseus (which is in the northern section of the sky) to increase your chances of capturing one on on "film".

Also, use a wide angle lens if you have one and make sure it is focused at infinity. Lastly, meteors are often brighter after midnight when the relative speed between the Earth and the meteor increases so you may have a long night ahead of you.

Good luck!

- Dave

[Ginger]

cool, thanks for the tips! I'll probably mess around with the camera tonight and see how it all goes.

[Ginger]

They're HEEEEEeeerrrreee

Standing outside chatting with my neighbors this huge tail of light flashes overhead...and we're in the middle of light noise Detroit. I can only imagine what it looks like further out.

wow

[Grant McLean]

They're HEEEEEeeerrrreee

Standing outside chatting with my neighbors this huge tail of light flashes overhead...and we're in the middle of light noise Detroit. I can only imagine what it looks like further out.

wow

should i be looking northeast like that website says?

lots of light pollution here, maybe need to wait until later...

g