Perseids Powerful This Year

 

The previous late night/early morning was overcast, and that day was the peak for the 2021 Perseids Meteor Shower. Not to be disappointed though, as conditions the early morning of the next day (August 14) were absolutely perfect! Clear skies, no moon, no haze, cool temperatures (56 degrees F), no wind, no insects and one of the best Perseids shows I've seen in years. Maybe not so much in bright streaks, but in numbers. You know it's going to be good when you see meteors while you're still setting up your camera. The above image looks northeast from near Bowman Woods Park in Cedar Rapids, Iowa and is a composite of 17 separate meteor streaks, each capture being a 20 second exposure at f/2.8, ISO 400 and 16mm focal length. The time range from start to finish of the composite was 3:07 am --4:24 am CDT. Nikon D7200 DSLR camera, Tokina 11-16mm F2.8 AT-X116 Pro DX II lens.

3:15 am CDT. Single image, containing the brightest captured meteor streak, and with the same camera settings as outlined above. The most active part of the event as I witnessed it seemed to be from 3-4 am, with numbers tapering off after 4:00 am.