Catching Meteors

Did you watch the Perseid meteor shower? It was an excellent year to watch. I went out on Thursday morning at about 3 AM and saw one every minute or two. I also took the opportunity to practice my astrophotography, and did just ok.

Can you see the Pleiades in this image? How about a meteor in the middle? That is Peoria's city glow in the lower right. Click image to zoom in. Image Credit: Renae Kerrigan

Here is an annotated version: 

The Pleiades and the meteor are indicated by the arrows. Cassiopeia is the "w" shape in the upper left. Image Credit: Renae Kerrigan

I am going to have to study up on the best way to capture meteors. All of mine turned out pretty faint. Also, there is a TON more light in Central Illinois than there was in the Chilean night sky, so nighttime photography is more of a challenge. Below is one image I captured of a meteor. 

Can you see the meteor streaking across the stars at the top of the image? Image credit: Renae Kerrigan

While my images are nothing exciting, there are plenty of more experienced astrophotographers who did a great job catching the Perseid meteors. Here are some of the best I saw from around the web: 

From EarthSky.Org 

Ruslan Merzlyakov of Denmark exuded, “Lots of Perseids and Northern Lights had just exploded in the sky right over my hometown."

Cory Smart found a perfect place for watching the Perseid meteors at the Mojave Desert, California. Cory says, “Here’s a composite image I created showing all the meteors I could capture on camera from 1:00 to 4:00. The sky background was a still frame from about 1/3 through the time lapse sequence.”

See more awesome pictures in EarthSky's collection here. 

Highlights from Space.com's collection:

Astrophotographer Tyler Leavitt sent in an image of a Perseid meteor streaking over the Nevada desert on Aug. 13, 2015. The lights of Las Vegas glow in the distance.

A brilliant Perseid meteor streaks over Ohrid, Macedonia in this stunning photo captured by amateur astronomers Stojan Stojanovski, Kristijan Gjoreski and Igor Nastoski with the Ohrid Astronomy Association during the Perseid meteor shower peak on Aug. 12-13, 2015.

See the full collection at Space.com here.

The Perseid meteor shower was great fun, with no Moon to block out the streaks of light. The next major meteor shower will be the Orionids, which peak on October 21 and 22 this year. If you are impatient for the next great astronomy event, never fear! There is a Total Lunar Eclipse coming up this September 27. Stay tuned for more information on that.

Of course if you want to learn more about what you can see in the sky, or astronomy in general, visit the Dome Planetarium at the Peoria Riverfront Museum. And join us this Friday night for a Pluto Pub Night to learn the latest science from the New Horizons mission while enjoying pizza and beer!