I camped at Dos Cabezas siding in the southern portion of Anza-Borrego Desert State Park from the evening of December 13 through the morning of December 14, 2017. This is a reuse of the frames I shot while capturing Geminids. You can see some of the brighter Geminid meteors among the star trails here. To produce these star trails, I shot 274 frames that were each shot at 20 sec f/2.8 ISO 4000 using a Canon 6D and Sigma 15mm EX DG lens. I stacked the images in StarStaX using both "normal" and "comet" modes. The water tower seen here is part of the SD&AE and dates back to the age of steam locomotives. The San Diego & Arizona Eastern Railway Company is a short-line American railroad originally founded in 1906 as the San Diego & Arizona Railway (SD&A) by sugar heir, developer, and entrepreneur John D. Spreckels. Dubbed "The Impossible Railroad" by many engineers of its day due to the immense logistical challenges involved, the line was established in part to provide San Diego with a direct rail link to the east by connecting with the Southern Pacific Railroad lines in El Centro, California. The SD&A's 146.4-mile (235.61 km) route originates in San Diego, California and terminates in El Centro, California. Recently, the Baja California Railroad has taken out a lease of this line and plans to restore freight service in the near future.
The night before the epic 2017 Geminid Meteor Shower over the Pumpkin Patch in Ocotillo Wells, California. The meteor activity on the night before the peak of the 2017 Geminids wasn't nearly as spectacular, but it was still pretty good. The moon was a relatively thin waxing crescent on this night, but it appears round in this long exposure. This is a composite of the best frames from about 2:32 AM through 3:24 AM on December 13, 2017. All meteors seen here are their actual sizes and in the actual locations they appeared in the sky. Shot with a Canon 6D and Sigma 15mm EX DG at 25 sec f/2.8 ISO 4000. This unique landscape is the result of wind and water continuously eroding the surface soil and revealing these globular sandstone concretions. Such concretions are believed to be formed by the natural cementing of sand particles to a small object such as a piece of shell, a grain of sand, or even an insect.
The epic 2017 Geminid Meteor Shower over idle railroad tracks at Dos Cabazas Siding in Anza-Borrego Desert State Park. The epic Geminids of 2017. Unlike many meteor showers over the past several years, the 2017 Geminid meteor shower certainly lived up to all the hype. Actually, it was far better than the hype. So many bright and slow-moving fireballs all over the sky! The only better meteor shower I have ever experienced was the Leonids of 2001. This is a composite of the best frames from about 10:00 PM through 11:00 PM on December 13, 2017. All meteors seen here are their actual sizes and in the actual locations they appeared in the sky. The San Diego & Arizona Eastern Railway Company is a short-line American railroad originally founded in 1906 as the San Diego & Arizona Railway (SD&A) by sugar heir, developer, and entrepreneur John D. Spreckels. Dubbed "The Impossible Railroad" by many engineers of its day due to the immense logistical challenges involved, the line was established in part to provide San Diego with a direct rail link to the east by connecting with the Southern Pacific Railroad lines in El Centro, California. The SD&A's 146.4-mile (235.61 km) route originates in San Diego, California and terminates in El Centro, California. Recently, the Baja California Railroad has taken out a lease of this line and plans to restore freight service in the near future.
