Friday, October 4, 2013

Draconids Meteor Shower Peaks Monday Night. Here's Some Tips For Photographing Them!


The annual Draconids Meteor Showers is peaking Monday evening! It's not usually a very plentiful shower...but it can roar when you least expect it!
So get out your tripods, grab a coffee, and go shoot them! Here's some tips on how!




Pre-Shooting Preparation:
Charge your batteries fully before going out. It might be a bit 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.

Time to Go Out:
Unlike most meteor showers, the Draconids are best BEFORE midnight. So head out once the sun has set and the sky is getting nice and dark!


Where 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 will be setting, so it won't interfere with seeing the meteors.


Finding the Meteors
You should be able to see lots of meteors looking to the Northwest, they will radiate from above the big dipper.


Graphic from www.earthsky.org
For more info on the Draconids, check out this article.

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2 comments:

KCG said...

Thanks for the tips!

Andrew said...

Thanks for the advice! I'll be out there with my camera and have the pictures up on my website!