Take a cool shower this weekend…

Perseids 2012 Edition

Once again, the night sky is the “star” of the weekend, with the Perseids Meteor Shower peaking on August 11th. You could see up to 100 falling stars per  hour!

But you really don’t need an excuse not to venture out in the dark  –  your equipment is minimal. I recommend a reclining type of lawnchair, a plastic tumbler full of a nice off-dry bubbly white wine (taste tested a prosecco and a great Moscato last weekend – I liked the Moscato best – , and perhaps a blanket if the night is cool.  Just get set up somewhere outside the city lights, relax in your chair,  pour your bevvy and prepare to be marveled! Loot towards the north east

You can definitely bring your tripod and camera as well, and set it up on B (bulb) with your remote shutter, ISO on 2-400 max, a wide angle lens of about 28mm or so, aperture around f5.6 (you want max sharpness).  I’ve done the Milky Way at 35 seconds, ISO 400. And the noise is minimal.

Get set up early and do a few tests, but I’d start at 30 seconds using the settings above.

For this show I will be testing the new Nikon D800 and the super cool lightbulb lens, the 14-24 f2.8 on my Benbo tripod.

 

If you really can’t make it into the great outdoors this weekend, you can watch the live feed on NASA

“You might see a lot or you might not see many, but if you stay in the house, you won’t see any.”

Enjoy the show – its the best cold shower you’ll ever have!