Waiting on Space Dust

This past weekend saw the peak of the Perseid Meteor Shower for 2011, so the wife and I headed out to a local high point to see what we could see.

What’s with the funky sky and shadows at 1am? That’s thanks to the full moon high in the sky and urban light pollution, which significantly decreased our ability to see stars, nevermind smaller pieces of comet dust burning up in the atmosphere! Of course, it did create some interesting effects…

So did we see any meteors despite the lighting? We were lucky enough to observe 7 by my count, including a super bright, green fireball which left a green residue hanging in the night air for several seconds. Definitely one of the best I’ve seen. But the more important question; did I capture any on camera? Sort of…

Can you see the meteor trail? No? Can’t blame you really, how about I blow up the left hand side a tad:

Yep, that’s my first successful meteor capture! Nothing special, but it’s something at least. I’ll keep working on it, hopefully during a couple of different meteor showers this fall/winter before next summer’s big show!

I think I need to find a way onto the International Space Station for next years Perseids though…