Archive 2012 · ISS and Perseids over Loveland Pass, CO

Jeff
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p.1 #1 · p.1 #1 · ISS and Perseids over Loveland Pass, CO

This weekend I finally got a clear night up here in Summit County, and Sunday night I spent 90 minutes on top of 11,990' Loveland Pass photographing the deep sky, trying to get the tail end (no pun intended) of the Perseid meteor shower, which peaked last night. I knew that the International Space Station was due to cross low over the northern horizon, so I captured a series of 30-second exposures that I assembled into a rather brief time-lapse video which can be viewed here (also some background info on the satellite tracking):

http://jeffwarnerphoto.com/2012/08/13/81212-iss-and-perseid-meteor-over-loveland-pass/

The image below is a view of the northern Milky Way in Cassiopea, and is a composite of over 7 minutes duration; it shows the ISS passing into the earth’s shadow low on the horizon (from left to right) somewhere over the Canadian border. The Envisat satellite can also be seen flaring, as well as one meteor and the Andromeda Galaxy (visible at center right, a hazy disk). [For the record, I originally posted one of the images in the Canon Forum as an example of the 5D MkIII's capabilities in regard to deep sky photography, but after spending a few hours this morning working on the composite, I decided to post the final image here in the Landscape Forum.]

Not a big traditional landscape guy, so feel free to C&C as you see fit, I'm always looking for input on how to improve these types of images.

Regards,

Jeff

Aug 14, 2012 at 11:15 PM

Dingsbums
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p.1 #2 · p.1 #2 · ISS and Perseids over Loveland Pass, CO

Jeff,

Very simple and very nice. I like it.
I also like how the cloud in the mid section is separated from the background.
Man, you got lucky with the horizontal shooting star (how do they say, the harder I work the luckier I get?).

Michael

Aug 14, 2012 at 11:41 PM

Jeff
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p.1 #3 · p.1 #3 · ISS and Perseids over Loveland Pass, CO

Actually, the 'horizontal shooting star' was the only part about this image that wasn't luck; that's the ISS disappearing into the earth's shadow. See the link provided for a timelapse to give some perspective.

I like the cloud, too. It annoyed me at the time, but ended up working for the image.

Aug 15, 2012 at 12:16 AM

shoenberg3
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p.1 #4 · p.1 #4 · ISS and Perseids over Loveland Pass, CO

Nice image. All that activity (both natural and human) in the celestial sphere!

Aug 15, 2012 at 12:22 AM

JimFox
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p.1 #5 · p.1 #5 · ISS and Perseids over Loveland Pass, CO

Hey Jeff,

What a really cool shot! I am glad that you decided to post the finished product here as it is a real pleasure to view.

Jim

Aug 15, 2012 at 03:25 AM

Scott Stoness
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p.1 #6 · p.1 #6 · ISS and Perseids over Loveland Pass, CO

Very nice image and after photographing in the dark this weekend, I have a new respect for people who can stand in the dark and find a composition to be invest several hours into. Very nice. Scott

Aug 15, 2012 at 08:07 AM

Jeff
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p.1 #7 · p.1 #7 · ISS and Perseids over Loveland Pass, CO

Scott Stoness wrote:
Very nice image and after photographing in the dark this weekend, I have a new respect for people who can stand in the dark and find a composition to invest several hours into. Very nice. Scott

That makes it all worth it!

Honestly, sometimes I wonder what the heck I'm doing while out at weird times taking pictures of weird things in weird places (especially of things like lightning and meteors). It's usually like Whack-A-Mole; the one, single second in between frames is when the best meteors occur (I missed two this way, though admittedly my TC-80N3 was out of batteries when I went to use it, and thus the interval in between images was a bit longer).

-J

Aug 15, 2012 at 11:33 AM

pumaknight
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p.1 #8 · p.1 #8 · ISS and Perseids over Loveland Pass, CO

A simple photo requires a simple reply.....beautiful!

Aug 15, 2012 at 02:01 PM

Jeff
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p.1 #9 · p.1 #9 · ISS and Perseids over Loveland Pass, CO

JimFox wrote:
Hey Jeff,

What a really cool shot! I am glad that you decided to post the finished product here as it is a real pleasure to view.

Jim

Thanks, Jim. It took longer than I would have thought to put it together, but I printed it today at 24" and it looks pretty good, well worth the time.

-Jeff

Aug 15, 2012 at 11:11 PM

Dingsbums
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p.1 #10 · p.1 #10 · ISS and Perseids over Loveland Pass, CO

Jeff,

I looked at the image and commented before I read your introduction. Okay, I missed the part about the ISS traveling horizontally through the sky, mea culpa. I still like the picture and I stand by what I said about the cloud. Thanks for posting. M

Aug 16, 2012 at 12:48 AM


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