The weather forecast was unclear until the last minute. This week all records were broken with temperatures above 35 degrees Celsius for several days. However, the predicted thunderstorms cleared and we were only bothered by patches of (high) clouds. After moonrise, the sky background became a bit lighter, but nevertheless we saw some beautiful meteors.

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Observed the Quadrantid meteor shower from Public Observatory Bussloo in the company of 3 friends. Conditions were not ideal with lots of clouds. Nevertheless we saw some pretty good numbers of meteors. A few brighter ones were captured by the Canon 8mm fisheye

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Although the weather looked bad, meteorologists predicted clear spells during the Perseid maximum night 12/13 august. We gathered at public observatory Bussloo at 22.00 preparing for a very humid night waiting for the skies to clear. Around 22.45 most camera’s started imaging a partly cloudy sky. The first meteors were seen. At midnight most of the clouds had disappeared but instead the moon started to rise and illuminate the skies. Between 01.30 and 02.30 we were completely clouded out, but then the clouds finally gave way and we were able to continu well into dawn. Highlight of the night was a -6 Perseid fireball right in my field of view with a persisting train that was visible in binoculars for over 1 minute.

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While shooting constellations with a softfocus filter, a nice fireball appeared in the Big Dipper.

Fireball in the Big Dipper. Canon EOS 5Dii, Sigma 50mm ART, F/2.8, 30sec, ISO800, Vixen Polarie.