Howards Astronomical Adventures
Tales From The Night Sky
The best camera is the one you have with you: all my years of seeing sun dogs without a camera changed yesterday. As I circled up the ramp from K-10 E to K-7 N en-route to the Jack Johnson concert what do I see before me?
For once I had a camera on me, albeit a little 3-megapixel iPhone. A bit of PS work to clean it up and ta-da, my first sun dog picture (click picture to embiggen).
The plan was part-week at the Nebraska Star Party (NSP) testing a super wide angle lens during the Perseid meteor shower. None of it worked out as planned.Excellent timing (no moon) for this years Perseid shower made it a must see event. Yet the weather, as always, determines ones meteor watching. On Wednesday I figured my best option was Monument Rocks in western Kansas.
Wednesday evening the sky was clear as predicted. After sunset the moon, just 2 days old, sat low in the west. As the sky darkened a trio of planets appeared with Venus leading the way (click images below for larger size).
Then came the meteors. Averaging 30 or more per hour, every hour I watched. Some faint and short lived, others burning brightly across the sky. All this with the glorious Milky Way as a backdrop, simply spectacular! This is why I go the distance, why I stay up all night.
Thursday night did not work out, just before sunset I checked the radar to find a serious storm bearing down on me. In thirty minutes I was packed up and on the road. As the sun set the approaching storms’ colors were awesome.One of the most interesting pictures of the trip I took out my truck window as I left Monument Rocks (click to enlarge).
It was clear at my house and even after driving for hours I watched the Perseids from my backyard. They only come once a year.