Figure 1: Meteor observed over Lac Teeples, May 21, 2023
Meteors appear quite frequently in astrophotographs. Unfortunately satellite tracks appear even more commonly and are a major problem. Satellite tracks are extremely straight in their path, constant in intensity and last quite a long time. Meteors tend to suddenly ignite, burn for a short time and then fade away. In spite of this difference I’m often left wondering what it is that has appeared in my images.
The image here is undoubtedly a meteor. It is a wide-frame image of a large part of the northern sky. I was trying to get an image of some northern constellations when this meteor appeared. The larger the field of view being imaged the more likely will you see a meteor. During the time of imaging (30 seconds probably) this meteor lit up, burned, and then faded away.
This was not during any specific event or “meteor shower”. There are many people who are able to image dozens of meteor tracks such as this during a meteor shower and show them all in one image. I have tried this and, well, the results are not very good. It isn’t as easy as it might sound. Stay tuned, though.
This wide-field image was captured with a ZWO ASI-294MC Pro camera, a Canon EFS 24mm pancake lens, an Astromechanics focus controller and a Sky-Watcher Star Adventurer mini mount on a tripod. It was captured from the Lac Teeples Cottage, AKA the Lac Teeples deep sky observatory, on May 21, 2023.
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