Another Perseid Meteor

Just got back from my vacation in Maine near Biddeford Pool and had 2 wonderful nights of perfectly clear skies in a very dark spot to see the Perseid Meteor Shower. I didn't bring any of my equipment, but I did have my Canon 30D and my 17-85mm zoom lens. I turned off the autofocus and the image stabilization, flipped the camera so that it pointed straight up, set it down on a relatively flat rock with a paper towel to protect the LCD screen and set the exposure for 30 seconds, F5.6. This is the best shot of the 150 or so shots I took that night. I wish I had a wider angle lens since so many of the meteors were just out of frame. I also wished that I had my remote control and tripod and Canon angle finder to help me focus. Ah well, it was fun, "roughing it."

Here's the shot.

I'm back!

After many months of non-activity, I've decided to get back into lunar photography in a big (or littler) way. I've just jumped on the Astro-Tech 6" f/9 Ritchey-Chrétien astrograph deal over at Astronomics.com.


Normally, this little jewel goes for $795 and is worth every penny since it has beautiful optics. However, Astronomics.com has them on a special deal (perhaps they are phasing them out) for only $299! At this price, it's an absolute steal. I need to resurrect my old Bogen tripod to try and use that for a while until I can buy a suitable mount for it.

I'm also purchasing another Canon 30D. The previous one I owned had an issue with camera shake when used in continuous shooting mode, only the first shot would be sharp. I sold it to a regular photographer who didn't need the rapid fire capability. I have found another 30D at a great price so will be mating this scope with that camera.


More later,
Ambrose