I set up my modified Vesta camera with its original lens on a fixed tripod pointing about 45°
up towards the east. I set K3CCDTools to collect 60-second exposures continuously, and left it going
from 21:52 UT until 04:07 UT on 13th August. Six of these frames seem to have caught meteors which may
or may not all be part of the Perseid shower. The radiant just shows on the fourth picture but
rotation of the heavens (or rather the Earth) moves it considerably over the time of these pictures, so
determining where it is for each picture is difficult. The colour balance for the camera was set to "indoors"
which seems the wrong choice; however setting it to "outdoors" gave the pictures a dark red background.
This setting gave a better balance, I think
The meteor is not the bright streak in the centre of the picture; that is an aircraft moving right to left
and the rest of the track is on the previous frame. The meteor is the near-vertical streak at the bottom;
there is no continuation on the adjacent frames.
Date and Time: 12th August 2005 21:57 UT
Camera: Vesta 640K
Telescope: Original webcam lens
Capture: K3CCDTools. High gamma, 60", 45% gain, single frame
Processing: None
The meteor is at the left-hand edge of the picture. There is no continuation on the previous or
subsequent frames, so this is not an aircraft.
Date and Time: 12th August 2005 23:31 UT
Camera: Vesta 640K
Telescope: Original webcam lens
Capture: K3CCDTools. High gamma, 60", 45% gain, single frame
Processing: None
There is a faint streak in the upper-left quadrant of this frame. I assume it is a meteor.
Date and Time: 13th August 2005 00:13 UT
Camera: Vesta 640K
Telescope: Original webcam lens
Capture: K3CCDTools. High gamma, 60", 45% gain, single frame
Processing: None
The faint trail is just above and to the right of the centre of the frame.
Date and Time: 13th August 2005 00:36 UT
Camera: Vesta 640K
Telescope: Original webcam lens
Capture: K3CCDTools. High gamma, 60", 45% gain, single frame
Processing: None
Some cloud had moved over when this picture was taken, but a meteor shows through in the centre of the frame.
I believe the radiant of the Perseids is just on the edge of this picture; move your mouse over
the picture to show an arrow pointing at about where the radiant is. The trail does not extrapolate
exactly to this point but it has to be a Perseid. The picture also shows the Pleiades and Capella.
I have also added the designations of the major stars of Perseus.
Date and Time: 13th August 2005 02:04 UT
Camera: Vesta 640K
Telescope: Original webcam lens
Capture: K3CCDTools. High gamma, 60", 45% gain, single frame
Processing: None
Finally this is the last usable frame before the lightening sky saturated the camera, and it has
caught a meteor right at the top.
Date and Time: 13th August 2005 03:20 UT
Camera: Vesta 640K
Telescope: Original webcam lens
Capture: K3CCDTools. High gamma, 60", 45% gain, single frame
Processing: None
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