Clouds Bring Down the Curtain on the Perseids Show Early

The early morning hours of Sunday, August 13 were considered the peak of the 2023 Perseids meteor shower, with 2:00 am until dawn being prime time viewing. I set up in Bowman Woods Park in Cedar Rapids, Iowa just after 2:00 am, hoping for a long and intense show. Lingering Canadian wildfire smoke probably didn't help matters, and the meteor shower started out slow. Then the disappointment really began to happen. Clouds from the west began approaching, and a lengthy stay appeared likely. The image above is a composite of five separate meteor streaks, with a 2:27 am capture being included in the base terrestrial image. Other captured streaks occurred at 2:09, 2:39, 2:31 and 2:59. Each image is a 13 second exposure at f/2.8, ISO 640, 11mm focal length. Also viewable in the image are the constellations Perseus (radiant source) at center, Auriga below Perseus,  and Taurus just above the tree line at lower right. The Pleiades star cluster is just above Taurus. The bright object at right is the -2.47 magnitude planet Jupiter.

While photographing the Perseids Meteor Shower at 2:51 am, a fast moving helicopter moved through my camera's field of view, and I captured its trail in this 13 second exposure. Note the presence of the encroaching clouds in the background.

3:13 am. Clouds are now veiling the stars and sky. In less than ten minutes this view of the sky (northeast) was entirely covered. I was forced to turn in early with a shortened and disappointing camera capture of the event. Nikon D7200 DSLR camera.