Perseid meteor showers....anyone?

killdeer43 · Aug 12, 2012

I was out on the deck at 3:30 this morning with a cup of coffee, settling in to watch the annual show. All reports indicated the possibility of 100 per hour, but I counted a mere 13.

It was still a sweet pre-dawn with Perseus almost directly overhead. Very enjoyable if you're into that sort of thing, astronomically speaking. :wink:

Joe

fearless · Aug 12, 2012

Nope. But I'm in Australia anyway and don't know how much of a view we had from here. I am into that sort of thing though.

killdeer43 · Aug 12, 2012

Might have been more productive if I had been away from the ambient city lights or if the moon hadn't been so bright!
My sleeping bag was pretty cozy, though! :wink:

Joe

dreadnut · Aug 12, 2012

Mrs. Dread and I are going to lay on the trampoline out in the backyard tonight.

We might even see some meteors :wink:

Hey, It was our 34th anniversary on Aug 10; we always try to catch the Perseids show this time of year. We like to go up north away from the city lights, but that wasn't in the cards for us this year.

Ravon · Aug 12, 2012

I always try to catch them every year but I totally forgot last night and was even on the front porch quite a bit but I think it was too hazy anyway and tonight looks like it'll be too cloudy. Hey Joe, put your camera on a tripod, aim it at the North Star and leave the shutter open for a while, I bet you'll capture some images of a meteor. I captured the comet Hale-Bopp on 35mm film a few years back with the camera taped to a fence post and left the shutter open for a couple minutes and it turned out as good as any photo of the comet I've seen. I'll have to take a picture of the picture to show it here but it's pretty cool. I have a 10" (lens) telescope but the drive on it is not accurate enough for astrophotograhy.

killdeer43 · Aug 12, 2012

Ravon said:
Hey Joe, put your camera on a tripod, aim it at the North Star and leave the shutter open for a while,

BTDT: I used to hike up into the mountains to do that on a fairly regular basis and I captured some great star track images.
Places like the Davis Mountains in west Texas, the Sangre de Cristos in northern New Mexico, and the San Francisco Peaks in northern Arizona are excellent spots for that kind of all-night fun. :wink:

Joe

West R Lee · Aug 12, 2012

The back porch at the Lazy B ain't bad either. Mrs. West and I went out back around midnight and saw several in the 20 or so minutes we spent out there last night.

West

Ravon · Aug 12, 2012

killdeer43 said:
Ravon said:

Hey Joe, put your camera on a tripod, aim it at the North Star and leave the shutter open for a while,

Click to expand...

BTDT: I used to hike up into the mountains to do that on a fairly regular basis and I captured some great star track images.
Places like the Davis Mountains in west Texas, the Sangre de Cristos in northern New Mexico, and the San Francisco Peaks in northern Arizona are excellent spots for that kind of all-night fun. :wink:

Joe

I figured ya had :wink: BTW whats BTDT?

fronobulax · Aug 12, 2012

Ravon said:
killdeer43 said:

Ravon said:

Hey Joe, put your camera on a tripod, aim it at the North Star and leave the shutter open for a while,

Click to expand...

BTDT: I used to hike up into the mountains to do that on a fairly regular basis and I captured some great star track images.
Places like the Davis Mountains in west Texas, the Sangre de Cristos in northern New Mexico, and the San Francisco Peaks in northern Arizona are excellent spots for that kind of all-night fun. :wink:

Joe

Click to expand...

I figured ya had :wink: BTW whats BTDT?

Been there, done that. Often followed by "got the t-shirt".

Stirlander · Aug 12, 2012

watched from about 11 to 130 and saw like maybe 10. I shoulda gone back out later... but I went to bed. lol

killdeer43 · Aug 12, 2012

I've also BTDT in the Cascades but the dry air of the Southwest seems to be better for astrophotos. :wink:

Joe

Ravon · Aug 12, 2012

Oh ok

I always have harder time with acronyms than most it seems. Heres a good site to look for dark skies http://www.darksky.org/DSDestinations Some nights my skies at zenith according to the chart can be 6+. Great views sweeping the summer Milky Way with binoculars

killdeer43 · Aug 12, 2012

Ravon said:
Heres a good site to look for dark skies http://www.darksky.org/DSDestinations Some nights my skies at zenith according to the chart can be 6+. Great views sweeping the summer Milky Way with binoculars

The interactive google map of city lights is great for perspective. One of my favorite places to see birds is in southeastern Oregon and it's as dark at night as the map says it is.

Good stuff, :wink:
Joe

Ravon · Aug 12, 2012

killdeer43 said:
Ravon said:

Heres a good site to look for dark skies http://www.darksky.org/DSDestinations Some nights my skies at zenith according to the chart can be 6+. Great views sweeping the summer Milky Way with binoculars

Click to expand...

The interactive google map of city lights is great for perspective. One of my favorite places to see birds is in southeastern Oregon and it's as dark at night as the map says it is.

Good stuff, :wink:
Joe

I bet that is awesome! Hopefully I'll soon be visiting one of the darkest sites in the U.S.- Spruce Knob Mtn. in W.Virginia

dreadnut · Aug 12, 2012

Hale-Bopp was the best one I've seen. I went up north to escape the city lights and brought my telescope, but that comet was great with just the naked eye.

killdeer43 · Aug 13, 2012

dreadnut said:
Hale-Bopp was the best one I've seen. I went up north to escape the city lights and brought my telescope, but that comet was great with just the naked eye.

Ah yes, Hale-Bopp, a.k.a. "the Great Comet of 1997."
I went to a wildlife refuge northwest of town and shot a few photos, but I'd have to dig into the slide archives to find them. :shock:
Until then, I'll commemorate with this one.

I sometimes miss those days when I could stay awake all night. :lol:

Joe

Ravon · Aug 13, 2012

That's beautiful Joe. I think what really made Hale-Bopp so special was the additional blue tail and you picked it up perfect

killdeer43 · Aug 13, 2012

Ravon said:
That's beautiful Joe. I think what really made Hale-Bopp so special was the additional blue tail and you picked it up perfect

Thanks Rav, but I won't claim that one as my own.
As I alluded, all of my shots were back in the days of slides :!: and I'll have to dig into the 'archives' to find mine.
I borrowed this lovely shot from the interweb. :wink:

Still, Hale-Bopp was fun to have around, and I spent a few wonderful nights out just staring at it!

Joe

rampside · Aug 13, 2012

killdeer43 said:
I sometimes miss those days when I could stay awake all night.

I hear ya Joe. After enjoying some beverages around the fire pit, the Mrs. and I went down to the lake and laid on the dock, witnessed a few meteors, fell asleep, woke up shivering and unanimoulsy agreed, the best (safest) place for a couple of old farts, would be in the house.

Terry

Perseid meteor showers....anyone?

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