Although the best way to see meteors is to watch the sky on a night when a meteor shower is in progress, a few meteors per hour usually streak through the sky on any clear dark night.  However, I know from experience that capturing an image of a meteor is more difficult than seeing one with the naked eye.  You need to have your camera pointing in the right direction at the right time, and the meteor needs to be bright enough to leave a trace on film or on the light-sensitive chip of a digital camera.

While taking a series of pictures of the Cepheus-Cassiopeia region, I captured this meteor on one of the images.  The picture was cropped and enlarged so the meteor can be seen better.  It was apparently moving from right to left, brightening just before burning out at the left end of the visible trail.

Image details:  120-second exposure at ISO 1600, taken with a Canon 400D camera at a focal length of 35 mm.

October 23, 2008