Anyone viewing/shooting the Perseids meteor shower?

[FlyingSquirrel]

The Perseids meteor shower peaks in August around the 12th (best days are Aug.11 through Aug.13). I try to watch them each year, but you have to find a place away from the city to get any decent viewing of them. I am thinking about trying to find a place to go and maybe do some astrophotography.

Is anyone else going to be viewing the meteor shower and/or photographing it? Any ideas or tips?

Thanks

p.s. If you've never seen a meteor shower, you simply must make the effort to stay up and watch (and find a spot away from the city if at all possible). This year is supposed to be very good due to the waning crescent moon which sets early, thus not casting interfering light into the sky during prime meteor times. (Now, just hoping there are no clouds!) Google the perseids for more info.

[Tringa]

I'm going to try viewing them. Fortunately I'm likely to be in a very dark area, but unfortunately not until the night of the 13th, so I may only see the tail end of them. I have never had much luck with The Perseids - not in right place and often too cloudy, but I'll have another go this year.

Dave

[chrisletts]

Meteor watching is a triumph of hope over adversity - I too have failed to make any decent sightings for a long time, mostly due to weather, but also during summer months it never gets dark enough.
I will of course give the Perseids a go, providing I can keep myself awake until after midnight!

Then it's just a case of wide angle, and leaving the camera pointed in roughly the right direction - it's all luck after that.

[davidedric]

I hadn't thought about it - but maybe I should give it a go. Thanks for the nudge. I live on the edge of the peak district, so should be able to recce out somewhere pretty dark. Unfortunately it's the wrong edge for looking east!

Dave

[FlyingSquirrel]

Cool, well best of luck to everyone trying to view the meteors. I hope I have inspired some people that have never seen them to try. If the conditions are just right, it can be immense fun and something you'll never forget.

Very long story, summarized: Years ago, as a teenager with a film camera, I went on a solo hike to the top of a mountain to photograph the Perseids. I set up camp in the alpine meadow, all other people were gone down the mountain. I was by myself, the sky was pitch black, I could see the Milky Way (not the candybar), the moon was completely invisible, the temperature was perfect, the bugs were somehow not active, and the meteors...wow..the meteors! I stayed up almost the whole night, laying on my sleeping bag under the stars, watching hundreds and hundreds of meteors go by. It was unbelievable, numbers beyond what I'd ever read or heard about. Literally several meteors every few seconds, all night, and many were very bright. It was a magical experience that I will never forget...

[CanadianJake]

I want to shoot some meteor showers. I have a Canon 7D with only a 18-135mm EF-S IS 1:3.5-5.6 lens kit.
Any pointers as to how to set up my camera? I am thinking 18mm F/4 30Sec intervals Knowing I will have minimal if not moon light
Thanks,
Randall

[Nancy Moran G]

I went out at 3:30 am Saturday, and midnight last night. Not much here on Cape Cod, Ma, USA,
but wil give tonight 1 more try.
Am on the beach, so it fairly dark and can see Big Dipper clearly.
Have fun everyone, it is worth the effort!
Nancy

[davidedric]

Cloudy at midnight so went to bed. Still cloudy in the morning so don't think I missed much

[The Blue Boy]

I gave it a bit of a try last night but really there was too much ambient light from the surrounding city (Manchester and Salford) to get the camera to catch and record anything decent. Did see quite a few though,

[The Blue Boy]

Having said that, just checked and got this one,



Not spectacular but a nice pic of the Plough,

[FlyingSquirrel]

Mark, pretty nice photo. I'm glad some of you decided to have a go at viewing and/or photographing these. I just got back today from a 4 day trip out in a national forest (dark, far away, no cell phone coverage, etc). Was going to be a three day, but first two nights were cloudy. Last night was clear and had some good activity, but did not take any photos (the reason why is a long story, and I am rather depressed about it, but that is for another time)

Anyway, good times everyone! I'm planning for next year, starting now...

[jerryjeff]

Just stumbled across this old thread. I went out to try it. Taking pics of meteors is a lot like fishing. I had them "jumping" all around me but not where I was pointing the camera. I used a pretty narrow field of view. I specifically wanted the cactus in shot for some kind of point of reference. I took a couple hundred pictures of nothing, just letting the remote timer run(learned a little about that thing). Finally, I saw one. By the way you see nothing in live view or the EVF. Even when I knew I got "something" I could not see it in replay and even on the computer it was invisible until I really cranked some sliders. This is the first time I tried this and I'm hooked. Sorry if this pic is a little big. First time posting here.