This was originally an attempt to capture a bright fireball Perseid meteor or two, but that didn't happen. I shot this the same night as the Perseids star trails photo I posted the other day, but this was earlier in the night. Though the nearly full moon was quite bright, I hoped to *maybe* capture a rare bright fireball Perseid over the urban lights in the background. Well, no fireballs, so I decided to salvage these frames and make some star trails instead. This is 147 frames each shot at 20 sec f/4.4 ISO 800 29mm with a Canon 6D and Canon 17-40mm f/4L lens. Total exposure time is 49 minutes. Processed in StarStaX using the "Comet Mode" option. This was shot from a vista point atop Palomar Mountain facing southwest. The urban light pollution is from Valley Center, San Marcos, Escondido, Carlsbad, and Del Mar.
I shot this from 2:34 AM to 5:01 AM on August 13, 2019 at Lake Henshaw in San Diego County, California. This is a stack of 420 individual frames shot with a Canon 6D and Canon 17-40mm f4/L lens. Seeing - let alone shooting - the Perseids this year was quite a challenge due to the nearly full moon that was keeping the sky lit up out here until about 4:10 AM or so. And shortly after the last light of the moon went away, the first light of the rising sun began taking its place. Nonetheless, I managed to see a few meteors and capture some of the brighter ones. To the left are Iridium flares (sunlight reflecting off the Iridium satellites) and to the right are Perseid meteors. I started shooting atop nearby Palomar Mountain as I really wanted to get a bright Perseid fireball streaking over some urban lights in the distance, but nothing was going on up there. Some other skywatchers stopped by and suggested I head on down to Lake Henshaw - so I did. I hung out with them and one other person and we had some nice conversations and enjoyed the sky show together.
One of San Diego County’s most precious natural resources, Elfin Forest Recreational Reserve offers approximately 11 miles of hiking, mountain biking, and equestrian trails, as well as picnic areas and scenic mountain viewing points. In addition, the natural beauty of the Reserve includes such native plant communities as oak riparian, oak woodland, coastal sage scrub, and chaparral. All wildlife and natural resources at the Reserve are fully protected so that future generations may also enjoy these wonders. The Escondido Creek watershed extends from above Lake Wohlford, through the City of Escondido, Harmony Grove, Elfin Forest and Olivenhain, Rancho Santa Fe, and into the San Elijo lagoon in Solana Beach and Encinitas.
