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.
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
Observed the 2017 return of the Geminids from Athos Centro Astronómico at La Palma. Although Europe was severely hampered by the storm Ana we managed to succesfully observe the Geminids in the nights 13/14 and 14/15 december.
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.
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.
Observed the Perseids from public observatory Bussloo with Mark-Jaap and Piet. It was not a perfect cloud free night, but the Perseids put on a nice show and we saw some bright meteors and pretty fireballs.
Canon EOS5DII and EF8-14/4L @F4, 8mm. ISO1600. 2014-05-24, 01.01.32-01.02.01UT.
We set out, at the public observatory Bussloo, to observe a possible meteorstorm from comet 209P/Linear. However, only one possible meteor from comet 209P/Linear was identified and photographed. Nevertheless we had a great night of observing and photographing various objects with different telescopes and lenses.
Another cold and windy night. Skies not as clear as 2 days earlier. Lots of light pollution. At the start of the session a nice meteor appeared. It’s persistent train is visible in subsequent images for more than 10 minutes.
2013-04-01, 19.47UT, Canon EOS 5Dii, EF200/2.8 @F3.2, ISO1600, 10x15sec, Vixen Polarie.
A compilation of my personal astronomical highlights in 2012.
Observed the Perseids from public observatory Bussloo with a couple of fellow volunteers and visitors. The night started out pretty good (21UT) with a clear sky, but not much meteors. Unfortunately, one hour later, clouds started to build up. This lasted for quite a while, and most of the observers decided to leave. Me and Alex held on for a bit longer but eventually we started packing (00.30UT) as well. Whilst packing we noticed the clouds were disappearing rapidly. Within half an hour the sky was clear and we continued observing. The sky background was better than at the start of the night, despite the moon, and numbers of Perseids were rising. I had already packed the mount and camera’s, but the allsky camera (Canon EOS 5DII and EF 8-15mm at 8mm) was still up and running. In total it captured 40 meteors; 34 Per, 3 Ant, 2 Spo and 1 kCyg. The last 2 hours of the night were the best with 36 meteors.
