Meteor showers are an excuse to find somewhere dark, lay back, and spend time contemplating the cosmos. While the Camelopardalids fizzled, even a single meteor streaking over the dark skies of Joshua Tree National Park is spectacular.
While the radio signature of atmospheric ionization from the Camelopardalids was neat, I am totally happy for some visible-light images of the meteor shower. Gavin Heffernan of Sunchaser Pictures managed some beautiful photographs of the meteor shower from Joshua Tree Park.
https://gizmodo.com/radio-signature-of-the-first-camelopardalids-meteor-sho-1581017959
A handful of meteors cross against the star trails in a long-exposure photograph.
A few meteors trace against a quiet sky.
The Milky Way highlights a Joshua Tree.
A meteor dashes across the sky behind a spiky Joshua Tree.
Star trails trace circles around the sky in a long-exposure photograph. A star trail covers 15 degrees per hour.
Heffernan also pulled together a timelapse sequence that captures the largest meteor strike:
Now I’m just left wishing I could find a dark sky park to visit. If you’re ever visiting Joshua Tree National Park, I love their book on geology within the park.
https://gizmodo.com/dark-skies-over-a-natural-bridge-1566445659
https://gizmodo.com/stargazing-near-the-grand-canyon-1550089281
https://gizmodo.com/dark-skies-in-texas-1567482813
https://gizmodo.com/book-review-joshua-tree-national-park-geology-1562561536
