Meteor Madness
Aurora, Moon, and Clouds – Oh My!
Trip Report from Lance Taylor, Peter Boytang, and Zoltan Kenwell, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada:
“We viewed the Aurigid meteor shower event from Sturgeon Lake boat launch at N55 04.961 W117 33.257 in Williamson Provincial Park (Google Map Link) after driving 357 KM NW from Edmonton at 11:00 PM to find some of the only clear skies in Northern Alberta. When we left Edmonton a thunderstorm was just rolling in. Shortly after we arrived at the lake about 3:00 AM we were greeted with an exceptional Auroral display. About a half an hour later we were unexpectedly greeted by Alister Ling and Bruce McCurdy from the Sky Scan Science Awareness Project whom also just happened to find their way from Edmonton to the same spot and could easily confirm that this was also the only clear patch of sky in all of Northern Alberta. The odds of us kindred spirits all just bumping into each other like that were truly just astronomical!
Anyways, we all observed together until sunrise at 6:30 AM and counted perhaps only 6 to 12 meteors occurring nearly exactly at the peak around 5:37 AM MDT. They were quite fast with long thin trails. Alas no fireballs to report like Alan Dyer did to the South. As we did not capture any meteors on film between our four camera after our long drive, all I have to share with you are these aurora pictures. The moral of the story being that When life serves you lemons, make lemonade.”
Images taken by me with a Canon 20D, 50mm and 18-55mm zoom lens at various ISO settings and exposure ranges mounted on a tri-pod.
Image #1: Aurora appearing over Sturgeon Lake Campground and the final Labour Day long weekend campers (most of whom were sanely asleep in their tents on this chilly morning).
Image #2: Looks to be clear skies ahead! After a long 4 hours drive through two storm systems we managed to find some clear sky!
Image #3: How the sky appeared to us at the peak of the shower. The aurora, sunrise, and clouds were a wee added challenge.
Image #4: Despite the bright moon, cloud cover, and aurora, we still managed to have good time out under the stars.
Image #5: No, not a meteor.. a satellite which I just confirmed in Starry Night Pro.
Link To More Images:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/rangerbob/sets/72157601808876106/
P.S. – Nothing beats a good Cuban Cigar for breakfast!
