Congress has cut federal funding for public media — a $3.4 million loss for LAist. We count on readers like you to protect our nonprofit newsroom. Become a monthly member and sustain local journalism.
Perseids of interest: Pro tips for shooting Wednesday's meteor shower
Nathan Trail took this photo of the Perseid meteor shower over Maryland on August 12th using KPCC's tips.
(
Nathan Trail
)
A Perseid meteor streak across a starry sky early August 12, 2008 near Rogers Spring in the Lake Mead National Recreation Area, Nevada. The meteor display, known as the Perseid shower because it appears to radiate from the constellation Perseus in the northeastern sky, is a result of Earth's orbit passing through debris from the comet Swift-Tuttle.
(
Ethan Miller/Getty Images
)
Perseid meteors are going streaking this weekend — bring a camera.
The Perseids appear every summer when Earth passes through a cloud of ice and dust specks from the Swift-Tuttle comet. The ancient debris burns up in the atmosphere to create bright stripes in the sky.
Click here for suggestions on where to watch.
No telescope necessary, this "shooting star"-effect is available to anyone looking up into the clear, dark night. Here are the meteor particulars, via NASA:
Support for LAist comes from
- Radiant: constellation Perseus
- Active: July 13-Aug. 26, 2015
- Peak Activity: Aug. 12-13, 2015
- Peak Activity Meteor Count: Up to 100 meteors per hour
- Meteor Velocity: 37 miles (59 kilometers) per second
- Notes: The Perseids is known as one of the best meteor showers to observe, and this year is no different. A crescent moon will set shortly after midnight, leaving dark skies from late night until dawn. The Perseids are typically fast and bright meteors that frequently leave trains.
Shooting for the sky
KPCC's Mae Ryan has some expert photography advice for trying to capture the upcoming Perseid meteor shower.
Step 1: Put down your iPhone. That little guy isn't man enough for the meteors. (Caveat: The app Slow Shutter Cam miiiight work, but the odds aren't great)
Step 2: Bring out your digital camera. Your best bet is a digital dSLR camera, but you can also try out your point and shoot if it has manual settings.
Step 3: Put your camera on a tripod. To get all the beautiful streaks you'll need an exposure that's at least 30 seconds long so your camera has to be still — very, very still.
Step 4: Try to find a location that's a little further from the city. All the lights in L.A. will drown out those meteors and your image won't be as pretty.
Support for LAist comes from
Step 5: Set your exposure for at least 30 seconds. Set your camera to "B" mode if you've got it. That will let you keep your shutter open for as long as you desire.
Step 6: Set your aperture to somewhere between f2.8 - f5.6. The longer you want to keep your shutter open the higher you can get your f stop. If you want your shutter open for 3 hours then you can go up to f22.
Step 7: Set your ISO to between 100 and 400.
Step 8: Set your focus to infinity… and beyond.
Step 9: Take some test shots. Check out if your image is under or overexposed and then adjust your aperture or shutter accordingly.
Step 10: If you have a cable release you're going to get clear images without any motion blur. If you don't have a cable release then press that shutter down really carefully so you don't move the camera while it's exposing the stars.
Step 11: Breathe. Relax. Take in the shower. Let that shutter stay open and don't touch the camera while it's exposing all those streaks.
Support for LAist comes from
Step 12: If you're on B mode then press that shutter down again really, really carefully. The longer you keep your camera exposing, the more streaks you're going to get.
Step 13: Send us your pictures! Share them with us and your fellow listeners on Twitter ("@" mention @KPCC), on our Facebook page or by email at photos@kpcc.org. We'll post the best of them.
As Editor-in-Chief of our newsroom, I’m extremely proud of the work our top-notch journalists are doing here at LAist. We’re doing more hard-hitting watchdog journalism than ever before — powerful reporting on the economy, elections, climate and the homelessness crisis that is making a difference in your lives. At the same time, it’s never been more difficult to maintain a paywall-free, independent news source that informs, inspires, and engages everyone.
Simply put, we cannot do this essential work without your help. Federal funding for public media has been clawed back by Congress and that means LAist has lost $3.4 million in federal funding over the next two years. So we’re asking for your help. LAist has been there for you and we’re asking you to be here for us.
We rely on donations from readers like you to stay independent, which keeps our nonprofit newsroom strong and accountable to you.
No matter where you stand on the political spectrum, press freedom is at the core of keeping our nation free and fair. And as the landscape of free press changes, LAist will remain a voice you know and trust, but the amount of reader support we receive will help determine how strong of a newsroom we are going forward to cover the important news from our community.
Please take action today to support your trusted source for local news with a donation that makes sense for your budget.
Thank you for your generous support and believing in independent news.
Chip in now to fund your local journalism
(
LAist
)
Trending on LAist
-
With less to prove than LA, the city is becoming a center of impressive culinary creativity. -
Nearly 470 sections of guardrailing were stolen in the last fiscal year in L.A. and Ventura counties.
-
Monarch butterflies are on a path to extinction, but there is a way to support them — and maybe see them in your own yard — by planting milkweed.
-
With California voters facing a decision on redistricting this November, Surf City is poised to join the brewing battle over Congressional voting districts.
-
The drug dealer, the last of five defendants to plead guilty to federal charges linked to the 'Friends' actor’s death, will face a maximum sentence of 65 years in prison.
-
The weather’s been a little different lately, with humidity, isolated rain and wind gusts throughout much of Southern California. What’s causing the late-summer bout of gray?
Best of LAist