From: "Stephen W. Ramsden" <sramsden@natca.net>
Date: August 14, 2012 3:56:58 PM MDT
To: "Astro_IIDC@yahoogroups.com" <Astro_IIDC@yahoogroups.com>
Subject: Re: [Astro_IIDC] Re: 2012 Perseid Meteor Shower
I would also accent avoiding the temptation to slew around trying to catch them. :)
Stephen W. Ramsden
On Aug 14, 2012, at 4:22 PM, "Jeff" <terryj@iit.edu> wrote:
Hello Agrafoi,
Well, thank you for the complement.
Shooting meteors is actually pretty simple.
I bought a cheap CS zoom lens a few years ago, similar to this one:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/3-LENS-5-50mm-DC-Auto-Iris-CCTV-Security-CS-Mount-NEW-Take-Offs-1-1-3-1-3-/370638292984?pt=US_Surveillance_Accessories&hash=item564bc387f8#ht_500wt_1011
I attach it to an Imaging Source DMK 41BF02 firewire camera controlled with AstroIIDC.
I put the whole thing on a cheap tripod and have AstroIIDC take a movie with a 2 sec exposure time. The 2 sec exposure time was found empirically by keeping the sky background to a level that I like. Others may prefer something else.
I stop the video every 15 minutes, save and start another one.
Shoot multiple hours of video and then go frame by frame looking for the meteors. Too easy to miss if you don't go frame by frame.
Avoid the temptation to slew around the sky looking for the last one that you just saw.
If you want to catch many meteors, focus about 25 degrees off the radiant. If you want to catch bright, long ones (but many fewer) focus about 90 degrees off the radiant.
After that it is just blind dumb luck. The wider the field of view, the better your chances but the more distortion you get from a cheap lens.
Hope that helps,
Jeff
--- In Astro_IIDC@yahoogroups.com, "-" <agrafoi@...> wrote:
>
> Hi Jeff.
> I wonder for your result: many, many compliment!
> Could you explain me with all possible detail your set of equipment (both hardware and software) and your technics to obtain the pictures and the maps?
>
> Thank you very much
> Agrafoi
>
>
> --- In Astro_IIDC@yahoogroups.com, "Jeff" <terryj@> wrote:
> >
> > I always enjoy grabbing pictures of meteors. AstroIIDC was used to control a firewire camera with a cheap lens to grab the images.
> >
> > Great software for video astronomy.
> >
> > I caught 17 over the night of Aug 11-12. Had some clouds at the start but it cleared shortly after midnight. In fact, I really like the first picture with the clouds.
> >
> > http://www.macastroimager.com/pages/perseid2012.htm
> >
> > Jeff
> >
>