Discover ways on how to improve the process on how to photograph meteor showers for better pictures.
With the wide array of available cameras on the market today, not to mention the improved camera tech on smartphones today, astrophotography has become more popular than it was decades ago. From constellations to moons and planets, many have taken to looking at the night sky to capture its magnificence through photos. One of the most anticipated celestial activities among astrophotographers, however, are meteor showers.
What are Meteor Showers?
Meteor showers are celestial events in which several meteors appear to come from one point in the sky. According to Britannica, a meteor shower is often named for the constellation or a star in the constellation that contains its radiant. Radar observation led to the discovery of new meteor showers and meteor streams, in which meteoroids move in confined streams. This magnificent sighting in the skies.
What to Know When Photographing a Meteor Shower
Astrophotography of meteors requires a basic understanding of what meteors are and what meteor showers are composed of. A meteor is a rocky space object called a meteoroid that enters Earth's atmosphere at very high speeds, causing the air around it to be ionized and producing light as it burns.
The Earth regularly passes through the dusty paths of comets circling the Sun. Whenever this occurs, the greater concentration of cosmic particles hitting the Earth's atmosphere causes a meteor shower, Space.com reported. Here are some tips on how to photograph meteor showers.
1. Invest in good gear, such as a camera with a manual mode, wide or super-wide angle lenses, and an intervalometer.
These three items are the basic gear one needs to capture amazing meteor showers in the night sky. A modern digital camera with a manual mode are perfect for capturing meteor showers, especially full frame, APS-C and Micro Four Thirds type cameras.
Wide or super-wide angles are also best for photographing meteor showers, specifically lenses with a range of 14mm to 35mm for full frame with the widest aperture of f/2.8 or below. Finally,
Some cameras come with their own intervalometer, but for those that don't, astrophotographers can invest in one. The intervalometer is a timer function that measures short intervals of time so photographers can program the camera to shoot several images at specific intervals.
2. Utilize as much information through apps and online groups to know when the best time to photograph a meteor shower.
Meteor showers occur throughout the year and are visible in the northern and southern hemispheres. Meteor shower activity is stronger in the northern hemisphere, however, where meteors appear to fall to the Earth from all directions.
Look up the optimal date for the specific meteor shower to photograph. Astrophotographers often anticipate the Quadrantid meteor shower in January and the Lyrids in mid-April. In May, astrophotographers can catch the Eta Aquariids while in July, the Delta Aquariids and Alpha Capricornids can be seen. Check out the entire list of anticipated meteor showers at Nikon USA.
3. Ensure that camera settings are set to manual and photos are captured in RAW file format.
For those who want to elevate their meteor shower photographs, it's best to shoot RAW so that the file captures the most digital data from the camera. For those who have Long Exposure Noise Reduction (LENR) enabled on the camera, turn this off to ensure it captures the best meteors.
4. Find an optimal dark place to capture the best meteor showers.
Cities are not often the best place to photograph meteor showers because of the light. Most astrophotographers go out into the mountains or countryside and seek out places with darker skies. According to NASA, too much light will make it more difficult for the human eye to see fainter meteor showers. Moreover, a moonless night will make for better meteor shower sightings.
5. Equip the camera with a stable tripod.
Photographing meteor showers can be a waiting game at times, so invest in a good tripod that does not easily topple in the wind and can keep the camera stable at all times. Finally, have fun watching the skies and discovering its marvels through astrophotography.
