We have arrived in the last month of 2023. The National Institute for Astronomical Research (NRCT) has released the Nareit coordinates. Tourist attraction Watch the phenomenon Geminid meteor shower Night 14 – morning December 15, 2023, and its observation begins at approximately 8:00 pm until dawn. Expect the highest average falling rate after midnight, approximately 120-150 stars per hour. Anyone still can’t figure out where to go? Prepare for installationCount the starsIn Thailand’s Dark Sky Conservation Areas, totaling more than 30 sites across the country as follows:
Tourist attraction Observation point Geminid meteor showers at all 30 locations
- Northeast of the country and the eastern region
- Central and western regions
Stargazing place All 30 locations nationwide have been registered as dark sky protected areas in Thailand and are considered a suitable place to observe meteor showers. Because it is ready to provide services to tourists, such as having an open space without trees or objects blocking the horizon. You have good lighting management and have facilities suitable for all forms of tourism.
Those interested can search for observation points. Geminid meteor shower All 30 locations can be found here. (click) And updates on all the stargazing activities from Dark Sky areas around Thailand on Facebook: Dark Sky (click)
Techniques for photographing meteor showers like an astronomer
- Geminid meteor shower
Geminid meteor shower Or the Gemini meteor shower will occur from December 4 to December 20 of each year, and its distribution center is located in the Gemini constellation. This year, astronomers expect that the peak rate will be between midnight on December 14 and 15, 2023, which is approximately 120-150 stars per hour, and in the east, from about 8:00 pm onwards, the meteor shower will appear as flashing rays of the sun. . Light across a wide area of sky. It can be seen with the naked eye. It was night without the disturbance of moonlight. Therefore, it is very suitable for display and camera setting for taking photos.
- Photography of meteor showers
In the past, astrophotographers did not have digital cameras. There is no smart photo editing program. But it is possible to take beautiful pictures of meteor showers by leaving the camera exposed, and today we have modern technology and software. Therefore, photographing meteor showers is more convenient and produces sharper images. An important technique used is photo stacking, which involves taking multiple photos and stitching them together.
- Meteor shower imaging equipment, Astronomical Edition
1. Digital camera with shutter release cable
2. Fast Wide Angle Lenses – The advantage of fast lenses is that this makes it easier to capture meteor shower flashes. There’s no need to push the ISO too high, and a wide-angle lens range also increases the chance of getting more meteor shower images attached to the photo. All these regular kit lenses can also be used for photography.
3. Tripods and Star Trackers – Star trackers are essential equipment for astronomers to track celestial objects. Meteor shower imaging allows us to capture meteor showers with the same distribution center. The same constellation can be used to stack images later. If we didn’t take pictures after the stars, each meteor shower image would constantly change its location. The movement of the orb makes it difficult to stack images later.
- Photography techniques and methods
1. Set up your camera before taking photos as follows: – Time used to record photos starting from 30 seconds or more – Use a wide aperture value such as f/1.4 f/2.8 so that the camera has sensitivity to capture flashes of light or fireballs of a meteor shower – Use A high ISO sensitivity setting to make the camera more sensitive to light during meteor showers, such as ISO 3200 or higher. – Set the continuous shooting mode (Continuous Mode) to allow the camera to continue taking pictures. During a meteor shower – Turn off the Long Exposure Noise Reduction system to allow the camera to shoot continuously without interruption in dark frame shooting – Change the color space mode to Adobe RGB to provide a color gamut with a wider color range than usual sRGB – Anti-shake and lens autofocus system – Focuses To infinity. You should choose to focus on the brightest star to get the sharpest image and the smallest star using the Live View system to help focus.
2. Set the camera away from the foreground. Keep it as far away as super focus distance. This can be calculated from the website at this link. www.dofmaster.com Or it should be at least 3-4 meters away approximately.
3. Set up your camera on a tripod, tracking the stars. Because the meteors will originate from the center of distribution (radiant), and in this way we will actually obtain an image of the meteor shower from the radian point. The important thing is that we will get more pictures of meteor showers than we would of them on a fixed tripod. Because of the location of the distribution center, it will constantly move and change its locations.
but, Place your camera on a tripod to track the stars It is an important technique for photographing meteor showers in order to obtain images with the largest number of meteors. The distribution from the center is clearly visible
4. Point the camera at the Radiant so that the point is in the center of the image.
5. Shoot continuously for at least 3-4 hours, using an exposure value of about 30 seconds per photo or more.
6. Midnight is the best time because it is time for the world we live in to receive a direct incoming meteor.
7. I want a long shooting star. It must be after midnight or near dawn. This is when the meteorite follows the direction of the Earth’s rotation. So it causes the shooting star to be seen working slowly.
8. Collect pictures of meteor showers together. From hundreds of images, select only those containing meteors and combine them in Photoshop or Star Stack to clearly see the distribution of the meteor shower.
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