244 replies to this topic

[LeoUK]

Great catch, Leo.

 

Not sure if you saw, I started a thread here for the Perseid meteor shower: https://www.cloudyni...k-this-weekend/

 

I posted a number of meteor pics on page 3 of it.

 

I didn't catch my brilliant fireball directly with my camera but I did see an amazing one and was able to time-lapse a persistent train from it.

 

I have a video here on my youtube channel with that and other time-lapses and also slideshows of some of the better meteors I captured here:

 

https://youtu.be/Wp9WqeNj_4Q

 

If you look closely at the time-lapse at about 1:40 in the video you can see the sky light up from the fireball that caused the persistent train.

 

Clear skies,

Eric

Good to see you caught a few over there Eric. Always nice to catch a persistent train even without the fireball. It's been a while since I've observed one like that myself!

 

Seems it was not too bad a year from that perspective. There were a few significant fireballs around. There was also a double peak much like 2021.

 

By the way, not sure if you heard, but things are looking even better for the prospect of a Perseid storm in 2028

[LeoUK]

I was out on Sunday and Monday evening, and saw quite a few, really chuffed with that. However, I only captured one on camera. I was tracking with my 24 f2.8 on a full-frame Nikon D3, aiming at the Perseus and Cassiopeia region but all the meteor seems to be appearing outside of my frame . Any advice on framing? or was I just plain unlucky.

 

As Eric said - what settings were you using, and what is your "dead-time" like? Dead-time is the time in between exposures, when your camera is not exposing. If it's too long, you'll end up missing meteors.

 

Also, how long in total did you image for, and during what times? It may be that you did not stay out long enough. The best rates tend to be just before dawn, when the radiant is highest in the sky.

 

I agree with Eric that 2.8 is a bit slow for meteors, and will limit you to just the brighter events. Luck does certainly play a part, especially if it's a poor or average year, and this was a fairly average year. It may well be that 24mm was just a bit too short (in another year 24mm might have worked OK), in a year where there were not large numbers of bright Perseids, compounded by using a relatively slow lens.

 

It's not always a given that everything needed for someone to successfully image will come together at the right time, so a good part of it is luck, but I would defiantly say invest in a 1.4 lens, and just keep trying/experimenting. We have a few years to practice before 2028 (see my post above).

 

Personally I'm liking the look of the new Sigma Art 14/1.4, but if you don't want to go that wide, the 20/1.4 Art is a great lens if you don't mind a slight bit of coma in the corners wide open.

 

PS. Have a look at this amazing image that is a composite taken over a few nights. Note how you could easily miss most (if not all) bright meteors if you placed a 24mm FOV over that image near the radiant, and there are relatively devoid areas all over the image. It can be easy to strike out, depending on your luck!

[EricTheCat]

Good to see you caught a few over there Eric. Always nice to catch a persistent train even without the fireball. It's been a while since I've observed one like that myself!

 

Seems it was not too bad a year from that perspective. There were a few significant fireballs around. There was also a double peak much like 2021.

 

By the way, not sure if you heard, but things are looking even better for the prospect of a Perseid storm in 2028

Thanks for the info.  Sounds like 2028 is something to really look forward to.

 

It seems like this is a pretty good year for meteor showers as far as timing goes.  During the peak of the Orionids and Leonids the moon will set in the evening and the Geminds peak right after the new moon.

[LeoUK]

Thanks for the info.  Sounds like 2028 is something to really look forward to.

 

It seems like this is a pretty good year for meteor showers as far as timing goes.  During the peak of the Orionids and Leonids the moon will set in the evening and the Geminds peak right after the new moon.

Of course, nothing is guaranteed, but I think 2028 is looking like the best chance for a storm since the 2001 Leonids.

 

I'm really looking forward to the end of the year, especially the Geminids. It is rare to get clear weather for them though, so I just have to keep my fingers crossed. Hopefully I can image them from the new house, if things go extra well and we manage to sell quickly. No idea exactly where yet, but finding a dark sky is a high priority.

[EricTheCat]

Of course, nothing is guaranteed, but I think 2028 is looking like the best chance for a storm since the 2001 Leonids.

 

I'm really looking forward to the end of the year, especially the Geminids. It is rare to get clear weather for them though, so I just have to keep my fingers crossed. Hopefully I can image them from the new house, if things go extra well and we manage to sell quickly. No idea exactly where yet, but finding a dark sky is a high priority.

2001 Leonids was an amazing show.  Went walking with some friends and we would see groups of 5 meteors at a time and things like that.  It was amazing to see.  Unfortunately I did not start doing astrophotography until the next spring.

 

Similar situation here.  Both actually.  December tends to be cloudy here.  I haven't had good clear skies for the peak of the Geminids since 2017.  Also I am looking for a place with darker skies and away from the new neighbors.  My goal was to move before this years Perseids but I am still looking for the right place.

[LeoUK]

I'll never forget the 2001 Leonids. The Leonids in 1989 sounds like my equivalent of your 2001 Leonids - it alerted me, so I decided to head for a little town in the Australian outback in Queensland for 2001. The secretary of a small astronomical society very kindly sent out an open invitation which I eagerly accepted. On the peak night perhaps 60+ people had gathered, including a TV crew from Japan complete with mobile satellite up-link. Everything about that night was surreal, and the atmosphere was electric!

 

I snapped a couple of pics before the observing site at lake Moondara got very busy.

 

The night started with earthgrazers, some of them approaching fireball brightness. One or two in particular just kept going, and going - turning from green, to yellow, to orange, and then the deepest red as they approached the anti-radiant. After the grazers rates gradually climbed till I was counting ~2500 per hour @ peak. Storm levels for perhaps 3-4 hrs straight, and still seeing bright events even with the Sun starting to rise!

 

Here are a couple of images - unfortunately my favorite is too large to attach!

 

Good luck to both of us with the moves then! Hopefully we can both find somewhere with considerate neighbors - it seems to be a rare thing, but on the plus side (at least if you are looking to buy) it's not really something that people attach a value to!

 

Still going through footage from Perseid peak, but I did find another bright meteor, and it was a rare catch on the upward facing camera, but not a Perseid:

https://vimeo.com/856156576

 

 

 

 

[EricTheCat]

I caught a fireball this morning!  Nice enough that the train persisted for over 40 minutes until it drifted off frame.  Glad I set up this morning.  I was working from home in the wee hours and waiting for some servers to restart so I took the time to set up my cameras. 

 

I made a separate thread for it here: https://www.cloudyni...r-this-morning/

Edited by EricTheCat, 27 August 2023 - 12:29 PM.

[EricTheCat]

I captured a couple nice ones the other night.  While I had one camera imaging the soul nebula I had my other camera going for meteors.

 

 

This next one left a persistent train that lasted for 12 minutes. 

 

I added a Time-lapse of the persistent train and a slideshow of some of the brighter meteors to my youtube channel here: https://youtu.be/YmZMRGcK3jQ

 

 

Clear skies,

Eric

 

[LeoUK]

Very nice Eric. I'm still waiting for a decent persistent train. It's been too long since I last caught one!

 

Did you catch the fireball with aurora footage someone else posted on this thread: https://www.cloudyni...-iceland-video/ ?

[EricTheCat]

Very nice Eric. I'm still waiting for a decent persistent train. It's been too long since I last caught one!

 

Did you catch the fireball with aurora footage someone else posted on this thread: https://www.cloudyni...-iceland-video/ ?

Thanks!

 

Yes I did see that one with aurora.  What a nice surprise catch. 

 

Speaking of other recent meteor threads, Jhop posted a nice image of his results from the Perseid meteor shower here: https://www.cloudyni...-2023-perseids/

[LeoUK]

Speaking of other recent meteor threads, Jhop posted a nice image of his results from the Perseid meteor shower here: https://www.cloudyni...-2023-perseids/

Great composite!

 

Hoping we might see enhanced activity in the run up to the 2028 Perseids, just as we saw in the run up to the Leonid storms that occurred around 2000.

[EricTheCat]

Still chasing meteors.  I set up last night just until moonrise with one camera using the 28mm f/1.4 lens and another using the 15mm f/2.8

 

The 15mm caught a pretty nice one.  I saw this one and a nicer one off frame in quick succession.  Both lasted probably about 3 seconds.

 

 

About to set up again tonight.  Conditions aren't great but I'm hoping for a nice Taurid.

 

 

[LeoUK]

Good luck Eric. A few clouds shouldn't matter too much with the Taurids. Always the chance of a big fireball.

 

I'm going to have to sit this one out. Got a lot going on here, but keeping on the forums!

[EricTheCat]

Thanks Leo.  This one I got last night might be a Taurid.  Not the fireball I am after but it would have looked nice had it landed in the frame of my 28mm at f/1.4.

 

Good luck with all you have going on.  Life can get in the way but the skies will be there when things open up.

 

 

Doesn't look like I will be setting up tonight but there is a good chance I will tomorrow night.

 

 

[LeoUK]

Good catch Eric, and thanks for the kind words.

 

There were a couple of nice fireballs here the night before last, one of them a Taurid, and the other a sporadic, but my cameras were not running! I might have a go tomorrow night and the night after as they are looking semi-clear however.

 

By the way, not much info, but there is a suggestion that we will be encountering the debris field of Comet 3D/Biela on the nights of 1/2 and 2/3 December. The guy who posted is involved with UKMON so I think this is good info, although predictions can never be trusted 100% of course.

 

Not sure if the prediction warrants it's own thread, or where to post it on here if it does, so I'll just leave it in your capable hands Eric!

[EricTheCat]

By the way, not much info, but there is a suggestion that we will be encountering the debris field of Comet 3D/Biela on the nights of 1/2 and 2/3 December. The guy who posted is involved with UKMON so I think this is good info, although predictions can never be trusted 100% of course.

 

Not sure if the prediction warrants it's own thread, or where to post it on here if it does, so I'll just leave it in your capable hands Eric!

Thanks for the tip!  I put it on my calendar.  I think general observing and astronomy would be a fitting place for a thread.

 

I managed to capture a few decent meteors overnight last night.  One really good one:

 

[LeoUK]

Thanks for the tip!  I put it on my calendar.  I think general observing and astronomy would be a fitting place for a thread.

 

I managed to capture a few decent meteors overnight last night.  One really good one:

 

Meteor-2023-11-04-IMG_9833S.jpg

Good catch! Looks like it got quite bright at the end.

 

I'm half tempted to set up cameras tonight, but with it being Bonfire night here (my wife is sensitive to smoke so can't have doors/windows open for long), and the threat of rain, I'll probably wait till tomorrow.

[EricTheCat]

Got another really good one this morning. 

 

I wasn't planning to set up.  It was cloudy and extremely windy overnight.  I went to put the garbage out about 4:30 this morning and was surprised to find very nice clear skies and everything had calmed down.  So I set up the cameras for a couple hours.  Also I watched for about 45 minutes and counted 6 meteors.

 

This one left a persistent train that lasted for over 9 minutes.

 

 

[EricTheCat]

In case anyone wants to see I added a time-lapse of the persistent train from this morning's meteor and also a time-lapse of a starlink satellite train to my youtube channel here:

https://youtu.be/ZC4OkYWmE4o

 

I think nearly half my videos on youtube now are persistent train time-lapses. 

[EricTheCat]

Here is a cropped version of the last one to show detail.  Planing to set up tonight but for all I know it could be a while before I get another one that good.

 

 

[LeoUK]

Very nice Eric! You have a knack for catching long lived trains it seems. I guess long exposures have the advantage over footage in this case, if you have reasonably dark skies.

 

I quite often find that a night which was predicted to be cloudy turns out out to be nearer the opposite. I think half the time I was imaging last year was during predicted cloudy or clouded out time, so I now pay much less attention to the forecast, instead checking the satellite, rain radar, and just looking with my own eyes.

 

I also set up cameras last night and the previous night (up till around 01:00), but didn't catch anything worth posting. There were at least a couple of significant events on the first night, but north of me, where my cameras can't get to!

[EricTheCat]

Very nice Eric! You have a knack for catching long lived trains it seems. I guess long exposures have the advantage over footage in this case, if you have reasonably dark skies.

 

I quite often find that a night which was predicted to be cloudy turns out out to be nearer the opposite. I think half the time I was imaging last year was during predicted cloudy or clouded out time, so I now pay much less attention to the forecast, instead checking the satellite, rain radar, and just looking with my own eyes.

 

I also set up cameras last night and the previous night (up till around 01:00), but didn't catch anything worth posting. There were at least a couple of significant events on the first night, but north of me, where my cameras can't get to!

Thanks!  The skies here at my new place are pretty decent.  Also using a fast f/1.4 lens really helps. 

 

I use the hourly forecast from the National Weather Service here.  It is a chart that includes percentage of sky cover that tends to be very accurate on the day of.  Of course they don't cover your area though.  Also I've known for years that "partly cloudy" often means clear.

 

Got a couple nice ones the night before last.

 

There was also one that got away, this one would have been real nice if it had just been higher in the sky:

[EricTheCat]

A couple more from the night before last.  I am enjoying the hunt.  Probably will set up again tonight.  Hoping for a really good one.

 

 

 

 

[LeoUK]

Thanks!  The skies here at my new place are pretty decent.  Also using a fast f/1.4 lens really helps. 

 

I use the hourly forecast from the National Weather Service here.  It is a chart that includes percentage of sky cover that tends to be very accurate on the day of.  Of course they don't cover your area though.  Also I've known for years that "partly cloudy" often means clear.

 

Got a couple nice ones the night before last.

 

There was also one that got away, this one would have been real nice if it had just been higher in the sky:

Meteor-2023-11-08-IMG_7470S.jpg

What exposure time and ISO? I know it's comparing apples and oranges (diferent sensors, and sky quality) but my sky background is about as dark as yours and I'm using 1/30s and ISO 16000 or 20000 (28 or 20mm f1.4). That would imply that my system is many times more sensitive, yet no long lived trains. I'm thinking that the sky quality is more of a factor - around Bortle 6 here. Or perhaps it's just luck that my cameras have not caught the right event!

 

Good to hear that over hear the forecasts work in a similar way. I wan't sure if it was just us in the UK! What I often see is green (clear sky forecast) 7 days in advance of the target date, then the following days it'll turn red (mostly cloudy), but on the night it'll be clear or mostly clear.

 

A shame that one got away! I have been thinking about the subject (height in sky/where to aim) quite a bit recently (in preperation for the eventual move where there should be more choices where to aim, I hope!), and it occured to me - why even bother aiming low down (at "someone else's sky"), when the brightest/closest events are high in sky? But those events are few and far between, so a balance needs to be struck! 

[EricTheCat]

What exposure time and ISO? I know it's comparing apples and oranges (diferent sensors, and sky quality) but my sky background is about as dark as yours and I'm using 1/30s and ISO 16000 or 20000 (28 or 20mm f1.4). That would imply that my system is many times more sensitive, yet no long lived trains. I'm thinking that the sky quality is more of a factor - around Bortle 6 here. Or perhaps it's just luck that my cameras have not caught the right event!

 

Good to hear that over hear the forecasts work in a similar way. I wan't sure if it was just us in the UK! What I often see is green (clear sky forecast) 7 days in advance of the target date, then the following days it'll turn red (mostly cloudy), but on the night it'll be clear or mostly clear.

 

A shame that one got away! I have been thinking about the subject (height in sky/where to aim) quite a bit recently (in preperation for the eventual move where there should be more choices where to aim, I hope!), and it occured to me - why even bother aiming low down (at "someone else's sky"), when the brightest/closest events are high in sky? But those events are few and far between, so a balance needs to be struck! 

With my 28mm I am usually shooting 5 second exposures at f/1.4 and ISO 3200.

With my 15mm I am usually shooting 13 second exposures at f/2.8 and ISO 6400.

 

Been getting persistent trains fairly regularly on each.  They do show up VERY faintly.  I often have to increase the contrast a lot to bring them out of the background even though they look pretty obvious on my viewfinder screen.  My skies are predicted to be Bortle 4. 

 

Funny you mention that, I've been thinking a lot about camera placement and angles. Your post way earlier in this thread does have a lot of good points as far as angle goes.  I've been trying a few different views but it seems like no matter the angle I have it pointed I will get some cut off at the top and some cut off at the bottom.  The conclusion I came up with is there is no wrong answer as long as you are shooting!

 

Last night it was clear here all night so I had the cameras rolling the whole time.  Quite a few good meteors (and of course a great one cut off).

 

Here are a couple of the better ones from last night.