Scope Diagram Astrocamera.Net - Astrophotography by Dave Kodama

Geminid Meteor Shower
and Comet 46P/Wirtanen
13-14 Dec. 2018


Clouds largely obscured this Geminid shower, though I could visually see many bright ones even behind the cloud cover. In this shot a bright Geminid is visible between the Big Dipper and Polaris. The orange hue of the clouds are caused by the sodium vapor lights of Palm Springs.

Photo info
  • Date/Time: 14 Dec. 2018, 03:25 PST
  • Location: Vanishing Point Observatory
  • Camera: Nikon D850 @ ISO 1600, cropped frame
  • Exposure: 20 sec.
  • Lens: Sigma 15mm fisheye, f/2.8
  • Mount: Skywatcher Star Adventurer tracker
  • Image Processing: Lightroom


   
Earlier in the evening, Comet 46P / Wirtanen was visible. While it was nearly at its closest approach to Earth, it was still a dim fuzzy ball with no discernable tail. Binoculars were necessary to spot it visually. On the photo above, the comet is indicated by an arrow. The white streak is a satellite.