Geminid meteor shower, Big Meadows, Skyline Drive, Shenandoah National Park,December 13. 2020年12月13日，双子座流星雨，大草地，香浓国家公园。
I started taking interest in shooting meteor showers a few years ago. I have been aiming for the major ones (Perseids in August and Geminids in December) and planned to go at least three times, but each time it was thwarted by bad weather. It kind of happened again this time with the Geminids. The peak was on the night of December 13 and the morning of 14. I started watching weather forecast 10 days prior, and it was depressing to see things go from bad (cloudy) to worse (rain and snow), not only for the 13th but for both the days before and after. It was only on the 12th that the forecast for that night started changing for the better (but not for the 13th), and I had a decision to make – to go or not to go. Geminids usually produces about 100 meteors/hour or more on its peak night. The number decreases significantly off peak, but on the night before (the 12th, ~50 meteors/hour) it is still at a much higher rate than minor showers. I'd at least shoot it behind my house if nothing else. The question was whether to still go to Big Meadows in Shenandoah National Park which was my planned trip for the peak night. It is a place with two levels less light pollution than where I live, but it's 2-hour away. In the pandemic even such a short trip could be a logistic nightmare (restroom stops etc.). There was also still uncertainties with the weather – the service I used didn't have a data point for the exact location and I could only guess based on the forecast for two nearby towns. Big Meadows being in the mountains only adds to the unpredictability. In the end I decided to go and I'm so glad I did (and according to the weather service it didn't end up getting much better on the 13th)! I got there before 11:00PM and the sky was almost completely clear. The moment I stepped out the car two meteors shot over high in the sky. I set up as quickly as I could and started shooting, and stayed until 6:00AM the next morning. I saw easily 50+ meteors, and together the two cameras captured more than 130. It was quite a show. The downside was having to sift through 2000 images and process them. My only real complaint was the wind. I'd say it was gusting likely over 20 miles/hour. It constantly shook my setup which is evident in the star trails of the image with the tree in the foreground. But overall I'm really happy with what I'm able to get out of it. This was non-peak and I can only imagine how much more spectacular 100 meteors/hour will be – can't wait to see one!
