Perseids in Derbyshire

rpsmith79

rpsmith79

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Rich
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Please bear with me as this was my first real attempt at any sort of Astro Photography, we had actually been out earlier in the evening trying to shoot sunsets over Ladybower Reservoir, then on the way back stopped off at Surprise View for a few hours, this was the end result

Out of the 200 odd shots i took, only this one managed to catch any meteors, but i was quite chuffed i caught 2 in one shot, we saw plenty in the sky, just not where i had my camera pointed

Any comments/critique welcomed


Perseid Meteor Shower by Richard Smith, on Flickr
 
Looking due north....

A good photo, and luck was with you capturing two shooting stars.

I looked east, and saw several, but photos were awful.

Mj
 
Mark Johnson said:
Looking due north....

A good photo, and luck was with you capturing two shooting stars.

I looked east, and saw several, but photos were awful.

Mj
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How on earth do you know i was looking North (still got a lot to learn about Astro photography)

But yes i was looking North, i was hoping to get some nice star trails going around the North Star, but failed big time on that front
 
It's always easy to identify north in a clear starry sky.

The two stars at 'the front' of the Plough point to Polaris - the North Star.

You have part of the Plough and Polaris in your shot.
 
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Well done, its satisfying getting just one, so two is a real bonus.
You may well have some more in other shots, a lot were very faint and more difficult to spot.
 
Steve B said:
Well done, its satisfying getting just one, so two is a real bonus.
You may well have some more in other shots, a lot were very faint and more difficult to spot.
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Funny you say that, i only thought there was the one in this when i started to edit it, and through careful adjustments in LR i found there was a second

I just wish i had light painted the foreground a bit better, all my attempts were a bit crap, so kept it as a silhouette instead
 
JayJay said:
It's always easy to identify north in a clear starry sky.

The two stars at 'the front' of the Plough point to Polaris - the North Star.

You have part of the Plough and Polaris in your shot.
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Just looking for the Plough now (after Googling what it looks like)

Is it in the top left corner of my shot, the last 5 stars of the Plough, and then is that the North Star pretty much top dead centre?
 
well done, like it.,was there anybody else there and was it pitch black keep meaning to go here
 
rpsmith79 said:
Just looking for the Plough now (after Googling what it looks like)

Is it in the top left corner of my shot, the last 5 stars of the Plough, and then is that the North Star pretty much top dead centre?
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no astronomer but yes to both i think
 
iwols said:
well done, like it.,was there anybody else there and was it pitch black keep meaning to go here
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I couldn't believe how busy it was, we left about 10:30 from the main car park, and there were queues of traffic in both directions trying to get in

It was pretty much pitch black, there was some slight light pollution if you pointed back towards Sheffield, but there are plenty of other directions to point in where there is next to none
 
rpsmith79 said:
Funny you say that, i only thought there was the one in this when i started to edit it, and through careful adjustments in LR i found there was a second

I just wish i had light painted the foreground a bit better, all my attempts were a bit crap, so kept it as a silhouette instead
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Certainly not c**p. A pretty cool photo IMHO.

Personally, I am not keen on the detail of the foreground, it distracts from what the photo is about. I think your silhouette works very well, for me anyway.

Glad you have wised up about the north star.... it only moves about a degree. Saved many souls I reckon.

Mj

:olympus::):)
 
rpsmith79 said:
Just looking for the Plough now (after Googling what it looks like)

Is it in the top left corner of my shot, the last 5 stars of the Plough, and then is that the North Star pretty much top dead centre?
Click to expand...

That's right. The Plough is really handy as not only is it one of the brightest and most easily identifiable constellations - it's present all year round. As Mark says, it's knowledge that could be a life saver.
 
JayJay said:
That's right. The Plough is really handy as not only is it one of the brightest and most easily identifiable constellations - it's present all year round. As Mark says, it's knowledge that could be a life saver.
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And the plough group turns round Polaris like the hands of a clock with the end two pointing at it all the time ;)
 
Cheers guys, as they say, every day is a school day

Always nice to learn something new ;)
 
Cool stuff, I didn't realise surprise view was dark enough for this, must make the effort. Makes me wonder if Curbar edge is dark enough as that's 5 mins from my house, but I'm thinking might have too much light pollution from Chesterfield?
 
minnnt said:
Curbar is a little exposed... Could be a good foreground lead in though... :D

One way to find out Toby... :whistle:
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What do you mean by exposed exactly?

Yeah I just need a fast wide angle first ;)
 
minnnt said:
Nothing to mask any light pollution and the fact you can see a good way into the distance...
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So 'secluded' places are the best for astro? ;)
 
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