Thursday, December 13, 2012

Pictures of Meteors

Amongst all of the talk of possible snow next week I also noticed there is an opportunity to see a meteor shower tonight.  It is the Geminid Meteor Shower and conditions across much of the Midwest should be perfect to see it.

Usually I don't post information about meteor showers just because they seem a little over-hyped.  You go outside and look up with hopes of seeing them cross the sky.  However, I found a nice write up on how you might be able to see them easier.

LearnPhoto.ca has some good tips on how you can take great pictures of the meteor shower.  Here is a tease of what you can do to take good pictures.

Pre-Shooting Preparation:
Charge your batteries fully before going out. It's going to be colder at night, and that can affect battery life. Wear some warm clothes, a hat, and gloves. Bring some hot beverages, some friends, and make it a fun outing! At least you'll have someone to talk to between exposures.
Also bring a flashlight or LED keychain light so you can see what you are doing when changing your settings. A headlight looks dorky, but it let's you works with both hands.

Where and When to Go and Sky Conditions:
You want to be as far away from the City/Town as possible to reduce the amount of light pollution. Find a dark road out in the country somewhere far away from street lights.
Obviously it has to be a clear night that you can see the sky. The moon won't be an issue this time around!

You can start to see them after dark, but the best time will be after midnight to 2am on December 14th/15th, when you will have a meteor or two every minute!

Jump over to the article to get the rest of the tips.  Sounds relatively easy.

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