Shooting stars require impeccable timing, but a
camera can do most of the hard work for you
Catch a
falling star
There are few more humbling sights in nature
than shooting stars whizzing across the
night sky. Little more than particles called
meteoroids that burn up in the Earth’s
atmosphere in a birght, burning trail, it’s
possible to see shooting stars every night
of the year if the sky is dark and clear.
However, the best
time to photograph
them is during the
peak night of a meteor
shower. They’re best
photographed under
a dark sky (so pay
attention to the phase
of the moon) from
around midnight until
about 3am.
Even if you get your timing spot on,
photographing millisecond-long meteor
streaks is impossible, right? Opening the
shutter on your camera as a shooting star
appears is not going to work. So here’s what
you do; set up your camera on a tripod as you
would for any nightscape shot, then let the
camera take 25-second exposures for a few
hours. It’s the same process as for a star trail.When you get back to your computer, scroll
through the 100 or more images you have
taken that night (the more the better) and
with any luck you’ll have a shooting star in one
of them. With some incredible luck you could
even capture a ‘fireball’ – an especially big
and bright meteor that often appears pink or
green in colour.
Composition isn’t
as important as in
other nightscape
photography, but
it doesn’t hurt; a
shooting star streaking
above a building, tree
or rusty old car is
always going to be
more interesting than just a white line against
some stars.
Meteor showers get their names from the
constellation where the shooting stars appear
to radiate from. For example, the Perseids
appear to come from the constellation
Perseus, which astronomers call the ‘radiant
point’. However, the shooting stars can appear
anywhere in the sky, making a wide-angle lens
absolutely essential for these all-sky events.The four major meteor showers of the
year in the northern hemisphere are:3/4 January – Quadrantids
(40 per hour)
6/7 May – Eta Aquarids
(60 per hour)
12/13 August – Perseids
(60 per hour)
13/14 December – Geminids
(100 per hour)Here’s when to catch
and capture a falling star8
Above
Don’t miss it
In this shot,
meteors streak
across the sky
during an annual
meteor shower
© GettyimagesMeteor showers
coming in 2020
Let the camera
take 25-second
exposures for a
few hours
1/100
sec3
SecsShootingstarsrequireimpeccabletiming,buta
cameracandomostofthehardworkforyou
Catch a
falling star
Therearefewmorehumblingsightsinnature
thanshootingstarswhizzingacrossthe
nightsky.Littlemorethanparticlescalled
meteoroidsthatburnupintheEarth’s
atmosphereina birght,burningtrail,it’s
possibletoseeshootingstarseverynight
oftheyearif theskyisdarkandclear.
However,thebest
timetophotograph
themisduringthe
peaknightofa meteor
shower.They’rebest
photographedunder
a darksky(sopay
attentiontothephase
ofthemoon)from
aroundmidnightuntil
about3am.
Evenif yougetyourtimingspoton,
photographingmillisecond-longmeteor
streaksisimpossible,right?Openingthe
shutteronyourcameraasa shootingstar
appearsisnotgoingtowork.Sohere’swhat
youdo;setupyourcameraona tripodasyou
wouldforanynightscapeshot,thenletthe
cameratake25-secondexposuresfora few
hours.It’sthesameprocessasfora startrail.Whenyougetbacktoyourcomputer,scroll
throughthe 100 ormoreimagesyouhave
takenthatnight(themorethebetter)and
withanyluckyou’llhavea shootingstarinone
ofthem.Withsomeincredibleluckyoucould
evencapturea ‘fireball’– anespeciallybig
andbrightmeteorthatoftenappearspinkor
greenincolour.
Compositionisn’t
asimportantasin
othernightscape
photography,but
it doesn’thurt;a
shootingstarstreaking
abovea building,tree
orrustyoldcaris
alwaysgoingtobe
moreinterestingthanjusta whitelineagainst
somestars.
Meteorshowersgettheirnamesfromthe
constellationwheretheshootingstarsappear
toradiatefrom.Forexample,thePerseids
appeartocomefromtheconstellation
Perseus,whichastronomerscallthe‘radiant
point’.However,theshootingstarscanappear
anywhereinthesky,makinga wide-anglelens
absolutelyessentialfortheseall-skyevents.Thefourmajormeteorshowersofthe
yearinthenorthernhemisphereare:
3/4January– Quadrantids
(40perhour)
6/7May– EtaAquarids
(60perhour)
12/13August– Perseids
(60perhour)
13/14December– Geminids
(100perhour)Here’swhentocatch
andcapturea fallingstar
8
Above
Don’tmissit
Inthisshot,
meteorsstreak
acrossthesky
duringanannual
meteorshower
©GettyimagesMeteor showers
coming in 2020
Let the camera
take 25-second
exposures for a
few hours
1/100
sec3
Secs