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What do I need to take photos of comets/meteors?

• First of you need a SLR camera that has shutter speeds of at least 30 seconds.
• A tripod as with such long exposures any movement will kill the photograph.
• A fast prime lens, I have a 50mm 1.8 that works quite well but I have noticed people recommending an 85/1.8.  Set the lens to ‘Manual’ focusing.
• A torch, remember that you will inherently be taking these photos at night and you want to get to a location that is as free of light pollution as possible so it will be dark.
• A pair of binoculars will also come in useful for looking for the comets/meteors.
• A cable release (if you don’t have one then you could use the self timer.

How do I take the photos?

Set the camera up on the tripod and set it to the widest aperture possible.  Find the comet/meteor and manually adjust the focus.  Set the exposure to the following values for a series of shots and remember that the sky is moving so there  is a chance that the comet/meteor may move out the frame if your not careful.

• 10 seconds
• 15 seconds
• 20 seconds
• 30 seconds

A lens hood will help to eliminate unwanted light.  Set off the exposure using the self timer or remote release.  Once you have your series of photos then go through them to see which you like best based on the different exposures, the long exposures will also result in a ‘trail’ effect on the stars as they slowly move across the sky.

When should I look for comets/meteors?

Obviously the sky needs to be clear and free of clouds.  For a list of the visible comets from the UK please see this PDF from the British Astronomical Association & Society for Popular Astronomy website.  For other locations around the world there are plenty of comet calendars on the web, such as;

• Stardate.org
• The Astronomer Online
• http://skytour.homestead.com/met2008.html
• http://www.amsmeteors.org/lunsford/
• http://www.namnmeteors.org/
• http://leonids.arc.nasa.gov/estimator.html

Some main events are;

• Quadrantids – January 4^th
• Eta Aquarids – May 5^th
• Perseids – August 12^th
• Leonids – November 17^th
• Geminids – December 13/14th

Some comet facts

• Approx. 10-20 comets are discovered each year
• Most comets have no tails, but some, as they approach the sun, develop a tail.
• The largest comet on record is the Great Comet of 1843 which had a tail more than 2 A.U. in length.
• The tail of Halley’s comet in 1910 grew at rate of 500,000miles/day until it reached 90 million miles long.

Facts taken from Gary Ayton Photography.

By Steve Crane

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Preview image by El Fotopakismo

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