Clouded Out for Geminids 2014, Some Consolation Prizes

After two successful Geminid captures (particularly last year) I guess the weather wasn't in my favor this year. I made an attempt at photographing the Geminids meteor shower on December 11, 2014 at 9:11pm. It was a completely clear evening and sunset, and started with a clear sky - but I think the warm air during the day led to a blanket of clouds after sunset even though the forecast actually looked very promising!

As with any failed meteor attempt, you always walk away with some consolation prizes in the form of star trails or even a couple neat sky pics. Here's what I managed - no meteors but a nice view of my favorite constellation Perseus over my neighbor's unfinished house:

Canon T5i single frame f/4, 18mm, 15 sec, ISO 800

Canon T5i single frame f/4, 18mm, 15 sec, ISO 800 about 20 minutes later...

92 images stacked in StarStaX

Photos above adjusted in the app Snapseed using the 'Automatic' filter, it does some quick work!

I made the images into a timelapse video: 152 individual frames taken with Canon T5i, each at f/4, 18mm, ISO 800, 15 sec; Timelapse in Sony Vegas with 0.07s still image duration each.

Watch 2014 Geminids Meteor Shower Peak December 13-14

The Geminids meteor shower is my favorite of the year, and the one I've had the most consistent luck observing and even photographing! I really can't say enough about this great meteor shower, it was my first one since taking up skywatching as a more intentional hobby.

It's a fun memory because on both nights I photographed the meteor shower I went to midnight showings of The Hobbit. In 2012 we saw meteors through the car windshield while driving to the theater, there were so many of them! In 2013 I got back from the theater in the middle of the night and set up my camera on the balcony to shoot away - I was exhausted from seeing a double feature and let the camera do the observing for me. 

Canon Powershot - My best Geminid meteor photo from 2012

Canon Rebel XT - My best Geminid meteor photo from 2013

Here are a few lessons I learned in the past 2 years trying to observe and photograph the Geminids meteor shower:

1. Keep looking in the same spot with a view of the most sky possible in the general direction of the apparent radiant. I used to think you had to look at the exact radiant point - the spot the meteors appear to be coming from. But you actually see much longer trails a little further away from that point. Just look where you have a comfortable view of the most sky possible.

2. Use a high enough ISO to capture the quick faint meteors. I started using ISO 400 and saw a bunch visually but didn't catch anything on the camera. Now I use ISO 800 in 15 second exposures. Find a high ISO that isn't too noisy.

3. Stop moving the camera! This is just random chance, and a natural tendency to want to point the camera to where you saw meteors in the past. Well lightning doesn't strike the same place twice, does it? (Actually, it does, but that's not the point). So keep your camera in one spot and let the meteors come to you - just keep your fingers crossed.

4. You might still see meteors even if the moon is out, and even if you have light pollution. A lot of astrophotography sites will complain about the horrid moonlight ruining the show - but don't let that discourage you. You're not looking for professional photos, so go out and give it a try, or just go take a look. You never know what you'll see!

5. You can still see meteors even on the non-peak nights. In fact, you can see Geminids from around December 4 to December 17. So, if your forecast looks miserable on the actual peak night, have a go a little early or late. I actually got my best photo the day before the peak last year.

6. What camera settings? From suburban skies, I like 18mm (as wide as possible), f/4.0 (as open as possible), ISO 800-1600, then adjust the time to avoid washing out the sky, for me that's about 15 seconds each.

7. Without meteors, star trails are a consolation prize! If you've snapped hundreds of frames with no meteors, you have a nice batch for star trails - a beautiful consolation prize after a long cold night!

Geminid Meteors with Canon Rebel XT over Indiana, December 13, 2013

This was my second time photographing the Geminid meteor shower. After coming up short after 3 nights of shooting last year (1 good meteor candidate), I was ready for another try. The forecast called for a huge snow storm to roll through the night of December 13-14 (the peak night). However, the night of December 12-13 was clear for the most part.

I went to see The Hobbit double feature in IMAX 3D with my brother, and after being in the theater from 7pm - 3am I wasn't in any mood to do some serious star photography, especially with work in the morning. I knew I would regret it if I didn't at least TRY to catch some Geminids the day before the peak, and am I ever glad I did! The bright moon was setting, and I had the benefit of a remote shutter lock this year (compared to taping the shutter down last year). 

I watched the photos download onto the computer, and didn't see any meteors in the thumbnail images. I took 381 photos total, each at ISO 800 (couldn't go to 1600 because of light pollution), 18mm, f/4.0, 15 sec each. My camera clicked away on the balcony from 3:21 AM to 5:06 AM when the battery finally died in the cold. 

When I finally looked through all the photos "by hand" on the computer one at a time, I was thrilled! Not only did I have a good "candidate" for a meteor, I had TWO very obvious meteors originating out of the constellation Gemini. Jackpot!

A Geminid meteor between Gemini and Canis Minor, it appears to be originating out of Jupiter near the center of the contellation

A Geminid meteor to the right of Gemini, this one's trail appears to originate out of top of the constellation between Castor and Pollux. I can't believe I nabbed this one just 2 min before my battery died!

Composite of the two images above, color and contrast messed with in Photoshop

Lessons learned from the Geminid meteor shower

The 2012 Geminid shower was the first meteor shower I attempted to photograph. It was an eye-opening experience, simultaneously frustrating and fun.

Over a 3 night period, I shot 672 images of the night sky using both my Canon Powershot and Canon Rebel XT. After hours of recording, all I have to show for it is some star trail images, and one measly photo of a real Geminid meteor:

Geminid meteor faint even at ISO 800

The first two nights I was shooting with ISO 400, which in hindsight looks like it was just too low to pick up the fast and faint meteors. Although I saw dozens with the naked eye, they just weren't registering on the cameras. 

Looking back, I also moved my cameras around too much. I originally thought to get the best shots I would have to aim toward the origin of meteors in the Gemini constellation, but now I know that meteors appear anywhere in the sky and actually have longer trails further from the radiant point. I should have framed a good shot with the roof line of the apartment complex and just let the meteors come to me.

Hopefully next time I'll be better prepared to capture the meteors - and hopefully by then I'll have a shutter remote lock for the Canon Rebel XT so I don't have to tape the button down!

No shortage of stars and aircraft, just no meteors...

Second Geminids attempt, what am I doing wrong?

Last night I left the point and shoot out to try to capture a Geminid two days before the peak. Well I didn't catch anything. Last night, I saw plenty of meteor streaks in the sky, so I again put the point and shoot out on the ground - but this time I set up the Canon Rebel XT with a wide angle lens to try to catch some meteors with a cleaner sensor.

I saw several streak through the field of view, but when I downloaded the photos I didn't see anything! What gives? I'm guessing I didn't have the ISO high enough to catch the very quick and faint meteors. Tonight, the peak Geminid night, I'm going to give it another go with a higher ISO. I guess I'll have to accept a little noise in order to capture the little buggers on film ("film").

Full disclosure: I adjusted the color a bit in Photoshop

No meteors here...

None here either...

No meteors, but my largest stack to date: 260 images, 15 sec ea., ISO 400

Early morning 12-12-12, no sign of Geminids just yet!

The Geminid meteor shower is supposed to produce 50-120 meteors per hour over the next few days, peaking at around 2:00am on Friday, December 14. Well, I didn't feel like waiting because we had a crystal clear sky last night, so I left my point-and-shoot out overnight to see if I could catch any early Geminids.

No such luck. I found a site that says the Geminids was producing around 24 meteors per hour last night (via Astroguyz), unfortunately none visible to my tiny camera. Let's hope the clear skies hold for another couple nights so I can try again.

235 stacked images of Gemini, ISO 400 for 15 sec each

My sophisticated meteor camera set-up

Geminids should appear to originate from Castor (StarWalk app)