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Meteor Showers 2023: The
Definitive Photography
Guide

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January 2023
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Maybe you're looking for the 2023 calendar of the best Meteor Showers in the USA, UK, Aus-
tralia, Chile, India or any other place on the planet. Maybe you want to know at what time
tonight's Meteor Shower is peaking in your hometown.
Or maybe you just want to learn how to photograph a Meteor Shower.
Well...
You came to the right place!
In this guide you'll find everything you need to successfully photograph Meteor Showers...
From a complete Meteor Shower 2023 calendar, inspiring photo ideas and how to plan them
with the PhotoPills app to all the gear you need and how to photograph a Meteor Shower
step by step.
And even how to use a star tracker and how to stack your Meteor Shower photos to create
amazing effects.
6

You're about to learn all you need to enjoy watching and shooting one of the best late-night
shows served by nature: Meteor Showers.
My goal with this article, using the same words that the night photography Master Lance
Keimig uses in his most famous book, Night Photography and Light Painting, is to help
you:
"Find your way in the dark"
7

Content
1 The 2023 Meteor Shower calendar highlights 9
2 How to find the Meteor Shower's radiant point (where to frame the camera) 16
3 Quadrantids Meteor Shower 2023: December 28 to January 12 22
4 Lyrids Meteor Shower 2023: April 14 to 30 26
5 Eta Aquariids Meteor Shower 2023: April 19 to May 28 30
6 Delta Aquariids Meteor Shower 2023: July 12 to August 23 34
7 Perseids Meteor Shower 2023: July 17 to August 24 38
8 Orionids Meteor Shower 2023: October 2 to November 7 42
9 Leonids Meteor Shower 2023: November 6 to 30 46
10Geminids Meteor Shower 2023: December 4 to 17 50
11 Ursids Meteor Shower 2023: December 17 to 26 54
12 How to plan a Meteor Shower step by step 58
13 All the gear you need to photograph a Meteor Shower 74
14How to photograph a Meteor Shower step by step 91
15 4 amazing Meteor Shower photo ideas to inspire you 108
16Join the quest! 114

Section 1:
The 2023 Meteor
Shower calendar
highlights

Name Activity Dates Peak (UTC) Moon Meteors/h
Quadrantids Dec 28-Jan 12 Jan 4 at 02:45 92.9% 110
Lyrids Apr 14-30 Apr 23 at 01:08 9.5% 18
Eta Aquariids Apr 19-May 28 May 6 at 14:38 99.8% 50
Delta Aquariids Jul 12-Aug 23 Jul 30 at 17:57 95.6% 25
Perseids Jul 17-Aug 24 Aug 13 at 07:41 10.0% 100
Orionids Oct 2-Nov 7 Oct 22 at 00:02 51.2% 20
Leonids Nov 6-30 Nov 18 at 05:22 26.5% 10
Geminids Dec 4-17 Dec 14 at 19:15 5.6% 150
Ursids Dec 17-26 Dec 23 at 03:41 85.3% 10
Meteors are caused by streams of cosmic debris entering the Earth's atmosphere at ex-
tremely high speeds. Smaller fragments burn in the atmosphere producing a shooting
star, but the bigger ones can really produce an amazing big fireball.
And when the space rocks (meteoroids) of the Perseids, the Geminids, the Quadrantids or
any other powerful Meteor Shower enter the Earth's atmosphere, you'd better be ready for a
great night of shooting stars.
The table above gives you the basic information of the 9 most important Meteor Showers in
2023:
• Activity dates: The period of time the Meteor Shower is active.
• Peak (UTC): The date and time the maximum activity of meteors is expected in GMT
time zone (Coordinated Universal Time or UTC). If you want to know when the Meteor
Shower is peaking in your exact location, you can do the math for your local time zone
or you can use PhotoPills. I'll show you in a second how to figure it out with the Meteor
Shower pill.
• Moon: The Moon phase during the peak. The higher the Moon phase (in %), the worse
photographing conditions you'll have (more Moonlight). But, obviously, it also depends
whether the Moon is above or below the horizon during the peak. So knowing local
Moonrise and set times is key.
• Meteors/h: The maximum number of meteors/h you could theoretically capture during
the Meteor Shower's peak. The truth is that the number of meteors you should expect
The 2023 Meteor Shower calendar highlights 10

is lower. It depends on the conditions you'll have in the location where you are: your lo-
cal peak time, Moon phase and Moonrise/set times, the light pollution at your shooting
spot and the position of the Meteor Shower's radiant in the sky. The radiant is the point
where meteors appear to originate. It's key to know where the radiant is to decide your
shooting spot and framing. I'll tell you everything about the radiant in section 2.
Now...
If you've been searching for Meteor Showers information on the Internet, you'd probably
come across similar tables. All of them are great. They give you a generic understanding on
when to photograph a Meteor Shower and how great the show could be.
But the catch is, it's just generic info!
And if you're serious about photographing a Meteor Shower, you need accurate local infor-
mation... No matter where you are in the world!
Period!
You need to know
• When is the best time to photograph the Meteor Shower, and
• How good it'll be for the location you are or plan to be to photograph it.
And there is a quick way to figure it out.
Long story short...
Open your PhotoPills app, go to the Pills Menu, scroll down a bit and tap the Meteor Shower
pill.

Meteor Showers > Info. All the key info about the
active Meteor Showers for a selected date and
location. And also a shortcut to the most important
Meteor Shower peaks.
Meteor Showers > Calendar. The calendar of the
most important Meteor Showers for the selected
year. Swipe left or right to change the year.
Here you'll find all you need to know about any Meteor Shower for your location (and local
time), no matter where you are on the planet – Northern or Southern Hemisphere. It in-
cludes:
• A complete Meteor Shower calendar, including all the major and minor Meteor Showers.
• Dates and local times of Meteor Shower peaks for the selected location.
• Meteor shower visibility and quality for your location (taking into account local peak
time, Moonlight and radiant position). The blue energy bar next to the Meteor Showers

points out how intense it's expected to be.
• Radiant position and path. In the field, use the Augmented Reality view (AR) to visual-
ize the Meteor Shower radiant position and path (even offline). It's key to decide your
shooting spot and framing.
• Detailed information for each Meteor Shower. In the Calendar, tap a Meteor Shower to
see its information sheet.
• Sunrise and Sunset times, Moonrise and Moonset times, Galactic Center visibility times
(Milky Way). Why not photograph the Milky Way with some meteors? Just an idea!
• Number of hours with no Moon that you can enjoy during the night.

Meteor Showers > Info. Scroll down the screen to
discover more info. Including the key Sun, Moon and
Milky Way info; a graph showing the peak of activity
and the paths of the radiant and the Moon; the
azimuth and elevation of the Moon and active
Meteor Showers, and meteors/h of each shower.
Meteor Showers > AR. Augmented Reality view of the
radiant at the beginning of the shooting session.
Slide your finger over the screen to see how it moves
throughout time.
But this is just a quick introduction to all you can do with PhotoPills...
There is much more!
In section 4, I'll show you step by step how to plan your Meteor Shower photos with Pho-
toPills using
• The Meteor Shower Pill to have instant access to all the key Meteor Shower informa-

tion. It's super useful to plan your Meteor Shower images in the field.
• The Planner's Meteor Shower features to plan your Meteor Shower photo ideas from
home, using the map view.
But before that, let me show you how to locate the radiant in the sky.
Keep reading!

Section 2:
How to find the Meteor
Shower's radiant point
(where to frame the
camera)

Knowing where the Meteor Shower's radiant is at all times is key.
It helps you decide the shooting spot and where to frame the camera based on the image
you wish to capture...
But first things first!
Let's start from the beginning...
What's the radiant of a Meteor Shower?
During the Meteor Shower, you'll observe that meteors appear to radiate from one point in
the night sky. This spot is called the radiant.
Each radiant (the point of origin from where the meteors appear to converge) is located
within or near the constellation that gives the name to the Meteor Shower.
For example, the radiant of the Geminids Meteor Shower is located in the constellation of
Gemini, near the Castor star, one of the brightest stars in the night sky.
Meteors can appear anywhere in the sky. So you could frame anywhere and eventually cap-
How to find the Meteor Shower's radiant point (where to frame the camera) 17

ture meteors...
Having said that...
Locating the radiant in the sky will help you decide the shooting spot and where to frame
your camera, depending on the image you wish to capture:
• You want the radiant in the frame if you intend to create an image in post-processing
where all the meteors appear to converge in one spot in the sky. Like I did to create
the cover image of this guide you're reading. It’s a cool effect. You can create it too
in post-processing by using the technique described in this Meteor Shower Photogra-
phy Masterclass with Ian Norman.
• The further away a meteor appears from the radiant, the longer its tail might be. So to
increase the odds of capturing longer tails, frame an area of the sky that is away from
the radiant.
• Also, to capture the maximum number of meteors, use the shortest possible focal
length (wide angle lens). The more sky you include in the frame the more meteors
you’ll potentially capture.
• But don’t forget to include an interesting subject in the foreground. Connecting the
action in the sky with a powerful foreground will make your image shine!
How to locate the radiant
Name Right Asc. Decl. Constellation Associated Comet
Quadrantids 15h 20m +49.0º Boötes 2003 EH1 (asteroid)
Lyrids 18h 04m +34.0º Lyra C/1861 G1 Thatcher
Eta Aquariids 22h 32m -1.0º Aquarius 1P Halley
Delta Aquariids 22h 40m -16.0º Aquarius Unknown, 96P Machholz suspected
Perseids 03h 12m +58.0º Perseus 109P/Swift-Tuttle
Orionids 06h 20m +16.0º Orion 1P Halley
Leonids 10h 08m +22.0º Leo 55P/Tempel-Tuttle
Geminids 07h 28m +33.0º Gemini 3200 Phaethon
Ursids 14h 28m +76.0º Ursa Minor 8P/Tuttle

As you can see in the table above, the position of the radiant in the sky is defined by two
coordinates: right ascension and declination.
• The right ascension is the angular distance measured eastward along the celestial
equator between the vernal equinox (or autumnal equinox in the Southern Hemi-
sphere) and the celestial body. Together with the declination, it defines the position of
a celestial body in the sky. It's measured in hours (1h equals to 15º), minutes and sec-
onds.
• The declination is the vertical angular distance between the center of a celestial body
and the celestial equator. A declination of +20º means that the celestial body is located
20º north of the celestial equator. The south polar cap is at a declination of -90º, the
equator is at declination 0º, and the north polar cap is at a declination of +90º. Declina-
tion is to a celestial globe as latitude is to a terrestrial globe, a vertical positioning of
an object.
Yes, I know, I know...
Both coordinates have horrible names and even worse definitions.
But the good news is that you can use the PhotoPills' Night Augmented Reality view to eas-
ily locate the exact position of the radiant in the sky.

radiant at the end of the shooting session.
Follow these steps:
• When you're at the shooting spot, open PhotoPills. In the Pills menu, scroll down a bit
and tap Meteor Showers.
• Select the Meteor Shower peak you want to plan from the Info tab or from the Calendar
tab.
• Tap the AR tab. PhotoPills will show you what's happening in the sky for the location
where you are and the selected peak date and time. Use it to locate the radiant in the
sky.

• It's always a good idea to calibrate the AR view to make sure that what you're seeing
through your smartphone is accurate.
• Swipe the AR view from left to right to move time backwards to the beginning of the
shooting session and then move your smartphone until you find the radiant.
• Swipe the AR view from right to left to move time forward and see how the radiant
moves across the sky to know where it is at all times.
Once you've located the radiant in the sky for both the beginning and the end of the shoot-
ing session, you'll know exactly the path the radiant will follow. Then, you'll be able to de-
cide the shooting spot and framing based on the image you wish to capture.

Section 3:
Quadrantids Meteor
Shower 2023:
December 28 to
January 12

The Quadrantids, well known for their bright fireball meteors, which produce larger explo-
sions of light and color, are also known to be tricky.
With a Zenithal Hourly Rate (ZHR) reaching 110 meteors/h, the Quadrantids could be the
most powerful shower of the year. But it turns out that the peak only lasts a few hours,
which makes it difficult to catch.
The shower runs from December 28 to January 12. The best night for observing and pho-
tographing them is the one between the 3 and 4 of January. The Peak has been predicted
for January 4 at 02:45 UTC.
The Moon, with a phase of 92.9%, will be an issue this year. It might block part of the mete-
ors. So use PhotoPills to check the time the Moon will set in your location and get ready for
the show.
Unfortunately, this Meteor Shower is only visible from the Northern Hemisphere. These me-
teors are not visible from the Southern Hemisphere.
Quadrantids Meteor Shower 2023: December 28 to January 12 23

Highlights:
• When: December 28 to January 12, 2023
• Best night: January 3-4
• Peak: January 4 at 02:45 UTC
• Moon phase: 92.9% (poor viewing conditions)
• Number (ZHR): 110 meteors/h
• Meteors velocity: 41 km/s
• Origin (radiant): Boötes constellation
• Radiant coordinates: Right ascension 15h 20m, declination +49.0º
• Associated asteroid: 2003 EH1
• Northern Hemisphere: Medium rate
• Southern Hemisphere: Not visible

Do you want to have the Quadrantids' information for your current location and for your lo-
cal time zone?
Open PhotoPills, go to the Meteor Shower Pill (you'll find it in the Pills Menu), tap Calendar
(at the bottom), swipe the calendar to choose the year and then tap Quadrantids to see all
the key information.
Have a look at the two screenshots below, they show the Meteor Shower information for
Madrid (Spain), my current location at the time of writing this article.
Meteor Showers > Calendar. Choose the year and tap
a Meteor Shower to see all the key information.
Meteor Showers > Calendar > Quadrantids. All the
key information you need about the Quadrantids
Meteor Shower for the selected location and your
local time. Scroll down to discover more
information.

Section 4:
Lyrids Meteor Shower
2023: April 14 to 30

With a Zenithal Hourly Rate (ZHR) of just 18 meteors/h, the Lyrids is an average shower.
It runs from April 14 to 30. The best night for observing and photographing them is the one
between the 22 and 23 of April. The Peak has been predicted for April 23 at 01:08 UTC.
This is a great year for the Lyrids. The Moon, with a phase of 9.5%, will let you enjoy the
show.
This Meteor Shower is visible from both hemispheres. Although it's weaker in the Southern
Hemisphere.
Lyrids Meteor Shower 2023: April 14 to 30 27

Highlights:
• When: April 14-30, 2023
• Best night: April 22-23
• Peak: April 23 at 01:08 UTC
• Moon phase: 9.5% (good viewing conditions)
• Origin (radiant): Lyra constellation
• Associated comet: C/1861 G1 Thatcher (discovered in 1861)
• Southern Hemisphere: Low rate

Do you want to have the Lyrids' information for your current location and for your local time
zone?
(at the bottom), swipe the calendar to choose the year and then tap Lyrids to see all the key
information.
Meteor Showers > Calendar > Lyrids. All the key
information you need about the Lyrids Meteor
Shower for the selected location and your local time.
Scroll down to discover more information.

Section 5:
Eta Aquariids Meteor
Shower 2023: April 19
to May 28

The Eta Aquariids is known for its high percentage of persistent trains, but few fireballs. It's
usually a very active Meteor Shower when viewed from the southern tropics. Its Zenithal
Hourly Rate (ZHR) is 50 meteors/h, but it gets down to 10-30 from the equator northward.
It runs from April 19 to May 28. The best night for observing and photographing them is the
one between the 6 and 7 of May. The Peak has been predicted for May 6 at 14:38 UTC. Try-
ing the night before and after is also a great idea.
This year the challenge is to deal with a Moon phase of 99.8%. Moonlight will work against
your interests washing out the stars...
The Meteor Shower is best visible from the Southern Hemisphere. It's also visible from the
Northern Hemisphere but at a lower rate.
Eta Aquariids Meteor Shower 2023: April 19 to May 28 31

Highlights:
• When: April 19 to May 28, 2023
• Best night: May 6-7
• Peak: May 6 at 14:38 UTC
• Origin (radiant): Aquarius constellation
• Radiant coordinates: Right ascension 22h 32m, declination -1.0º
• Associated comet: 1P Halley
• Southern Hemisphere: Good rate

Do you want to have the Eta Aquariids' information for your current location and for your
local time zone?
(at the bottom), swipe the calendar to choose the year and then tap Eta Aquariids to see all
the key information.
Meteor Showers > Calendar > Eta Aquariids. All the
key information you need about the Eta Aquariids
information.

Section 6:
Delta Aquariids Meteor
Shower 2023: July 12
to August 23

As it happens with the Eta Aquariids, it's better to watch this shower from the southern
tropics. With a Zenithal Hourly Rate (ZHR) of 25 meteors/h, don't expect to see many mete-
ors.
It runs from July 12 to August 23. The best night for observing and photographing them
is the one between the 30 and 31 of July. The Peak has been predicted for July 30 at 17:57
UTC.
your interests washing out the stars... But PhotoPillers never give up :P
The Meteor Shower is best visible from the Southern Hemisphere. It's also visible from the
Northern Hemisphere but at a lower rate.
Delta Aquariids Meteor Shower 2023: July 12 to August 23 35

Highlights:
• When: July 12 to August 23, 2023
• Best night: July 30-31
• Peak: July 30 at 17:57 UTC
• Origin (radiant): Aquarius constellation
• Radiant coordinates: Right ascension 22h 40m, declination -16.0º
• Associated comet: Unknown, 96P Machholz suspected
• Southern Hemisphere: Good rate

Do you want to have the Delta Aquariids' information for your current location and for your
local time zone?
(at the bottom), swipe the calendar to choose the year and then tap Delta Aquariids to see
all the key information.
Meteor Showers > Calendar > Delta Aquariids. All the
key information you need about the Delta Aquariids
information.

Section 7:
Perseids Meteor
Shower 2023: July 17
to August 24

The Perseids are considered to be the best Meteor Shower of the year. With a Zenithal
Hourly Rate (ZHR) of above 100 meteors/h, the night of the peak is usually epic.
It runs from July 17 to August 24. The best night for observing and photographing them
is the one between the 12 and 13 of August. The Peak has been predicted for August 13 at
07:41 UTC.
This is a great year for the Perseids. The Moon, with a phase of 10.0%, won't be a problem.
Just use PhotoPills to check the time the Moon will set in your location and get ready for
the show.
The Meteor Shower is visible from both hemispheres. Although it's best visible in the North-
ern Hemisphere. In the Southern Hemisphere it has a lower intensity.
Perseids Meteor Shower 2023: July 17 to August 24 39

Highlights:
• When: July 17 to August 24, 2023
• Best night: August 12-13
• Peak: August 13 at 07:41 UTC
• Origin (radiant): Perseus constellation
• Associated comet: 109P/Swift-Tuttle (discovered in 1862)
• Northern Hemisphere: High rate
• Southern Hemisphere: High rate

Do you want to have the Perseids' information for your current location and for your local
time zone?
(at the bottom), swipe the calendar to choose the year and then tap Perseids to see all the
key information.
Meteor Showers > Calendar > Perseids. All the key
information you need about the Perseids Meteor

Section 8:
Orionids Meteor
Shower 2023: October
2 to November 7

The Orionids are associated with the comet 1P/Halley, the same comet associated with the
Eta Aquariids in May. It's an average shower with a Zenithal Hourly Rate (ZHR) of just 20
meteors/h.
It runs from October 2 to November 7. The best night for observing and photographing them
is the one between the 21 and 22 of October. The Peak has been predicted for October 22 at
00:02 UTC.
The Moon, with a phase of 51.2%, could be an issue this year. However, the Moon is expected
to be under the horizon during the peak. So use PhotoPills to check the time the Moon will
set in your location and get ready for the show.
The Meteor Shower is visible in both hemispheres.
Orionids Meteor Shower 2023: October 2 to November 7 43

Highlights:
• When: October 2 to November 7, 2023
• Best night: October 21-22
• Peak: October 22 at 00:02 UTC
• Origin (radiant): Orion constellation
• Associated comet: 1P/Halley
• Northern Hemisphere: Low rate

Do you want to have the Orionids' information for your current location and for your local
time zone?
(at the bottom), swipe the calendar to choose the year and then tap Orionids to see all the
key information.
See the two screenshots below, they show the Meteor Shower information for Madrid
(Spain), my current location at the time of writing this article.
Meteor Showers > Calendar > Orionids. All the key
information you need about the Orionids Meteor

Section 9:
Leonids Meteor
Shower 2023:
November 6 to 30

The Leonids have a peak of over 100 meteors/h every 33 years. The last great peak occurred
in 2001, so we'll have to wait until 2034! Usually, It's an average shower with a Zenithal
Hourly Rate (ZHR) of just 10 meteors/h.
It runs from November 6 to 30. The best night for observing and photographing them is the
one between the 17 and 18 of November. The Peak has been predicted for November 18 at
05:22 UTC.
This is a great year for the Leonids. The Moon, with a phase of 26.5%, will let you enjoy the
show.
The Meteor Shower should be visible in both hemispheres.
Leonids Meteor Shower 2023: November 6 to 30 47

Highlights:
• When: November 6 to 30, 2023
• Best night: November 17-18
• Peak: November 18 at 05:22 UTC
• Origin (radiant): Leo constellation
• Associated comet: 55P/Tempel-Tuttle
• Northern Hemisphere: Low rate

Do you want to have the Leonids' information for your current location and for your local
time zone?
(at the bottom), swipe the calendar to choose the year and then tap Leonids to see all the
key information.
Meteor Showers > Calendar > Leonids. All the key
information you need about the Leonids Meteor

Section 10:
Geminids Meteor
Shower 2023:
December 4 to 17

For many astronomers, the Geminids is considered to be the queen of the Meteor Showers.
With a Zenithal Hourly Rate (ZHR) of 150 meteors/h, you can expect to see a good number
of bright meteors.
It runs from December 4 to 17. The best night for observing and photographing them is the
one between the 14 and 15. The Peak has been predicted for December 14 at 19:15 UTC.
This is a great year for the Geminids. The Moon, with a phase of 5.6%, will let you enjoy the
show.
It's visible from both hemispheres. Although it's weaker in the Southern Hemisphere.
Geminids Meteor Shower 2023: December 4 to 17 51

Highlights:
• When: December 4 to 17, 2023
• Best night: December 14-15
• Peak: December 14 at 19:15 UTC
• Origin (radiant): Gemini constellation
• Associated comet: 3200 Phaethon (discovered in 1982)
• Northern Hemisphere: High rate
• Southern Hemisphere: Medium rate
Do you want to have the Geminids' information for your current location and for your local
time zone?
(at the bottom), swipe the calendar to choose the year and then tap Geminids to see all the
key information.

Meteor Showers > Calendar > Geminids. All the key
information you need about the Geminids Meteor

Section 11:
Ursids Meteor Shower
2023: December 17 to
26

With a Zenithal Hourly Rate (ZHR) of just 10 meteors/h, the Ursids is an average shower.
It runs from December 17 to 26. The best night for observing and photographing them is the
one between the 22 and 23 of December. The Peak has been predicted for December 23 at
03:41 UTC.
your interests washing out the stars... But PhotoPillers never give up :P
Unfortunately, this Meteor Shower is only visible from the Northern Hemisphere. These me-
teors are not visible from the Southern Hemisphere.
Ursids Meteor Shower 2023: December 17 to 26 55

Highlights:
• When: December 17 to 26, 2023
• Best night: December 22-23
• Peak: December 23 at 03:41 UTC
• Origin (radiant): Ursa Minor constellation
• Associated comet: 8P/Tuttle (discovered in 1790)
• Southern Hemisphere: Not visible
Do you want to have the Ursids' information for your current location and for your local time
zone?
(at the bottom), swipe the calendar to choose the year and then tap Ursids to see all the key
information.

Meteor Showers > Calendar > Ursids. All the key
information you need about the Ursids Meteor

Section 12:
How to plan a Meteor
Shower step by step

Let's say you want to photograph a Meteor Shower in a beautiful location. It has little light
pollution, amazing views and an interesting subject.
Suddenly, your mind is filled up with questions:
• When is the next cool Meteor Shower happening?
• Will it be visible from where I live?
• And from the location I want to photograph it?
• How intense will it be?
• When is the Meteor Shower peaking?
• What's the peak local time?
• Where will the radiant be relative to my subject?
The good news is that you can answer all these questions (and a few more) with PhotoPills.
So open PhotoPills and enjoy planning your Meteor Shower shots:
• In the field, with the Meteor Shower pill.
• From home, with the new Meteor Shower features added to the Planner.
Let me show you how to use both tools.
How to plan a Meteor Shower step by step 59

Planning a Meteor Shower with the Meteor Shower
pill (1)
You'll find the Meteor Shower pill in the Pills Menu, next to the Night AR.
This tool gives you instant access to all the key information of the most important Meteor
Showers, including an Augmented Reality option to help you locate the radiant in the sky...
And it works offline!
This is how it works...

Step 1. Select the Meteor Shower
Meteor Showers > Info. All the key information about
the active Meteor Showers for a selected date and
year (2023). Swipe left or right to change the year.
Tap the Meteor Shower pill.
PhotoPills will use your current date, time and location to show you all the key information
about the upcoming Meteor Showers.
Notice that your location, date and time appear at the top of the screen (Info tab). Change
the location, date and time from the Settings option (at the top right hand corner).
Now...

Choose the Meteor Shower peak you want to plan either from the Info tab (choosing one of
the major upcoming showers) or from the Calendar tab.
Notice that to help you choose a cool Meteor Shower, the information PhotoPills provides
includes the name, the period of activity, peak date, peak time, peak meteors/h and peak
Moon phase.
It also includes an energy bar showing you how good the Meteor Shower is in terms of the
number of meteors you could capture. The more filled the energy bar is, the better the Me-
teor Shower is expected to be.
Let's say that you have a look at the 2023 Meteor Shower calendar and decide to plan a
photo of the Perseids. It seems to be a great year for the Perseids. The peak is on August
13 at 03:36 am, the Moon is super thin (10.0%) and the shower is expected to be relatively
intense (75.0 meteors/h) from my location.

year (2023). Swipe left or right to change the year.
Meteor Showers > Calendar > Perseids. The 2023
Perseids information sheet. Tap the first row to
select it and see all the information in the Info tab.
In the Calendar, when you tap a Meteor Shower, you'll access the Meteor Shower informa-
tion sheet. Tap the Meteor Shower peak info to select it (first row of the table).

Step 2. Find the Meteor Shower key information
Meteor Showers > Info. All the key information about
the active Meteor Showers for a selected date and
Meteor Showers > Info. Scroll down the screen to
discover more info. Including the key Sun, Moon and
Milky Way info; a graph showing the peak of activity
and the paths of the radiant and the Moon; the
azimuth and elevation of the Moon and active
Meteor Showers, and meteors/h of each shower.
Once you've selected the Meteor Shower, all the key information will appear in the Info tab.
What you're seeing now is all the information you need to know about the Meteor Shower
activity for your current location and for the date and time the 2023 Perseids are peaking
(August 13 at 03:36 am). If you want to change the location, the date and time, tap Settings
(at the top right hand corner).

In the big box, you have:
• The number of meteors/h for the selected date and time (the Perseids peak date and
time: August 13 at 03:36 am). Notice that this number takes into account all the active
Meteor Showers. You can see these Meteor Showers listed further down in the screen-
shot above.
• The expected peak time and expected peak meteors/h (taking into account all active
Meteor Showers).
Below the big box, you find the Moon phase and the amount of time you can enjoy the Me-
teor Shower activity without any Moon: 05h 06min.
Pretty cool, isn't it?
Swipe your finger on the big box to change time and see how the Meteor Shower conditions
change throughout the night.
If you scroll down a bit, you'll also find the key Sun, Moon and Milky Way information.
And below it, there is a super interesting graph.
This graph is great to quickly know at what time the maximum intensity of meteors will
happen and how intense the shower will be. Moreover, visualizing the paths of the radiant
and Moon gives you valuable inputs on how the Moon and the radiant will affect the shoot-
ing session.
Swipe your finger on the graph to change the time and see how the Meteor Shower intensity
evolves.
Finally, at the bottom, you'll find the azimuth and elevation of the Moon and all the radiants
of the active Meteor Showers. It also includes the number of meteors/h of each shower.
Step 3. Find your shooting spot and framing (locate the radiant in
the sky)
When the Meteor Shower peak date finally arrives (August 13), go to the shooting location
when the Sun is still up.
Yes, in this example, the peak is at 03:36 am on August 13, but you should get to your shoot-
ing location on the 12th, before Sunset.
Why?
Because finding a cool composition in the dark is much more complicated. And also be-

cause you need to spend as much time taking photos as possible to capture as many mete-
ors as possible.
PhotoPills Night AR view - Night AR view of the
PhotoPills Night AR view - Night AR view of the
radiant at the end of the shooting session.
As soon as you arrive, open PhotoPills, select the peak date of the Perseids from the Calen-
dar and tap the AR button to locate the radiant at the beginning and at the end of the shoot-
ing session.
It's always a good idea to calibrate the AR view to make sure that what you're seeing
through your smartphone is accurate.
Swipe the AR view to visualize how the radiant moves across the sky.
The radiant is the point in the sky where meteors appear to originate. Locating the radiant

in the sky will help you decide the shooting spot and where to frame your camera, depend-
ing on the image you wish to capture:
the radiant.
You can also use the AR view to plan the Milky Way ;)
So...
Decide your shooting spot and framing...
And you're all set!
It's time to enjoy a fantastic night under the stars ;)
Planning a Meteor Shower with the Planner (2)
I love the Planner...
It's my favorite tool in PhotoPills.
And now that I can use it to plan any Meteor Shower, for any location on Earth, from my
couch...
I love it even more :P
Let's see how it works...

Step 1. Choose the Meteor Shower
Planner main view. Place the Red Pin at the desired
shooting spot. Tap the Map Settings button and then
tap the Meteor Shower layer to see the calendar.
Planner > Map Settings Button > Meteor Shower
layer. Choose the Meteor Shower from the calendar.
Tap Planner (Pills Menu) and place the Red Pin where you want to plan the Meteor Shower.
Then,
• Tap the Map Settings button. You'll find it on the Map, next to the (+) map button.
• Switch off the map layers you don't need (like the Sun layer for example). To do it, tap
the eye icon you have next to each of the layers.
• Tap the Meteor Shower layer.

• And choose the Meteor Shower peak from the calendar.
Notice that to help you choose a cool Meteor Shower, PhotoPills provides the name, period
of activity, peak date, peak time, peak meteors/h and peak Moon phase.
It also includes an energy bar showing you how good the Meteor Shower is in terms of the
number of meteors you could capture. The more filled the energy bar is, the better the Me-
teor Shower is expected to be.
Let's use the Perseids again as an example and say that you want to plan to shoot them in
2023. On the Calendar, tap the 2023 Perseids to select it and see all the information on the
map and on Panel 11.
Step 2. Find your shooting spot and framing
To find your shooting spot and framing, you need to know the Meteor Shower radiant's posi-
tion and path during the shooting session.

Planner. Map view of the Meteor Shower radiant and
path, and the Meteor Shower information on Panel 11
at the beginning of the shooting session.
Planner. Map view of the Meteor Shower radiant and
path, and the Meteor Shower information on Panel 11
at the end of the shooting session.
When you select a Meteor Shower from the calendar, the peak date and time will be set in
the Planner (check the Time Bar below the map).
And you'll find all the information you need to plan the photo on the map and on Panel 11.
On the map you have the following information:
• Radiant path: The path the radiant will follow during the night. It looks like an arch on
the map. It's where the radiant is moving.
• Radiant position: The radiant is displayed as a circle on the path. The radiant azimuth

line (that starts at the Red Pin) shows you where the radiant is at the selected date and
time.
• Concentric circumferences: A kind of contour lines that help you understand the
elevation of the radiant. The azimuth and the elevation of the radiant also appear on
Panel 11.
And on Panel 11 you have the Meteor Shower name, activity period, peak date and time, ra-
diant coordinates (azimuth and elevation) and the number of meteors/h for the position of
the Red Pin and the selected time and date.
Swipe the Time Bar to see how the radiant changes its position throughout the night.
Knowing the position of the radiant at all times will help you adjust the position of the Red
Pin, and thus find your shooting spot and framing.

Step 3. Locate the Radiant in the sky
Planner > Night AR. Tap the Night AR option to
visualize the radiant position and path.
Planner > Night AR. Night AR view of the radiant at
the end of the shooting session.
Finally, use the Planner's Night AR bottom option to view the radiant position in the sky.
Notice that what you're seeing is the view from the Red Pin position (not from the position
where you currently are).
So when the Meteor Shower peaking date arrives, go to the shooting spot (where the Red
Pin is), and use the Planner's Night AR view (or the Meteor Shower Pill > AR) to locate the
radiant at the beginning and at the end of the shooting session.
Again, calibrate the AR view to make sure that what you're seeing through your smart-
phone is accurate.

Swipe the Night AR view to visualize how the radiant moves across the sky.
Cool!
Now you know how to use the PhotoPills' Meteor Shower tool and the Planner's Meteor
Shower features to plan your Meteor Shower shots.
It's time to let your imagination fly...
And plan a stunning Meteor Shower image ;)

Section 13:
All the gear you need
to photograph a
Meteor Shower

"Toni, what gear should I buy to successfully capture any Meteor Showers?"
Well...
It depends on your budget, obviously.
But one thing is certain...
You should get the gear that allows you to photograph the Milky Way, Star Trails and Me-
teor Showers with an acceptable quality level.
If you love astrophotography, my one and only piece of advice would be: invest in the best
camera, the best lens, the best tripod and the best ballhead that you can afford.
Or at least in the bare minimum:
• A camera that performs great at high ISOs, one that doesn't produce too much noise,
and
• A very sharp lens.
All the gear you need to photograph a Meteor Shower 75

These two elements are key to produce high quality images.
In our guide on how to photograph the Milky Way, I extensively discuss the pros and cons
of the low-end, mid-range and high-end equipment for Milky Way photography. I recom-
mend you to have a look at section 8 of that guide. There, you'll find what to buy and not to
buy depending on your goals and your budget ;)
Having said that...
Please, don't take anything for granted. This is just my personal opinion. At the end of the
day, your choice of gear is your call!
Let's see what gear you need.
Camera
These are the key features I believe a good camera (either DSLR or mirrorless) for night pho-
tography should have:
• Full manual exposure controls of aperture, shutter speed, ISO and focus.
• A Full Frame sensor is better (but not mandatory), because its noise performance is
much better than in APS-C cameras. This allows you to use higher ISO values, collect
more light and, thus, capture more stars. For a given number of megapixels, Full Frame
cameras generally produce less noise in the image than APS-C cameras.
• Good noise performance when cranking up the ISO to 3200 or higher.
• Full manual control of the white balance.
• External buttons to directly access most of the settings (ISO, white balance, etc.) with-
out having to dig into the camera menu.
• The option to shoot in RAW.
• A perfectly sealed camera body with optimal construction to withstand the effects of
wind, water, rain, humidity, sand, dust, etc.
• Good heat dissipation system to prevent the sensor from heating up and, thus, avoid
thermal noise in the picture. Besides the noise, if the sensor temperature is too high,
the sensor might start producing a magenta vignetting in the picture.
• A built-in intervalometer. It comes very handy when you forget to bring the external
intervalometer or when it runs out of battery.
• The option to use non-CPU lenses.

I know, I know...
Not every single camera on the market fulfills all these requirements. Obviously, the most
expensive cameras come with more features and are, in my opinion, the best ones.
But you can still get a great camera to achieve acceptable Meteor Shower and Milky Way
images at an affordable price.
These are my recommendations depending on your budget.
Low-end cameras
• Cameras with an APS-C sensor: Nikon D3500 and D5600; Canon 4000D, 250D and
M50 Mark II and Sony a6400.
• Cameras with a Micro 4/3 sensor: Olympus E-PL10 and Panasonic G95.
• Compact camera (1" sensor): Sony RX100 VII.
These cameras allow full manual exposure and manual white balance (or, at least, choosing
a white balance preset).
With all of these cameras you can shoot multiple short exposures for one or two hours, even
at ISO 1600. If you go beyond two hours, you start getting noise in your images because of
the sensor heat.
When shooting Meteor Showers or the Milky Way, this type of cameras suffer from noise at
ISOs of 3200 and higher.
Remember, these are basic cameras with small sensors. So always check how much noise
the sensor has produced when shooting a single long exposure.
Obviously, this limits the exposure time you can set and, thus, the number of meteors you
can capture.
Mid-range cameras
These cameras give an acceptable quality when shooting both Meteor Showers and the
Milky Way. The cool thing here is that their noise performance at ISOs of 3200 and above
is great.
• Cameras with an APS-C sensor: Nikon Z50, Zfc and D7500; Canon M6 Mark II, 850D
and 90D; Fuji X-S10 and X-T30 II; Pentax KF and Sony a6600.
• Cameras with a Micro 4/3 sensor: Olympus OM-5 and OM-1; Panasonic G9.

• Full Frame cameras: Nikon Z5 and D750; Canon RP; Sony a7C, a7 III, a7S III and a7R III.
High-end cameras
The following are great cameras if you are (or want to become) an advanced night photog-
rapher. Their performance at very high ISOs (3200, 6400,...) is just stunning.
• Cameras with an APS-C sensor: Nikon D500; Fuji XH-2S, XT-5 and X-Pro3.
• Cameras with a Micro 4/3 sensor: Olympus OM-D E-M1X and Panasonic GH6.
• Full Frame cameras: Nikon Z6, Z7, Z6 II, Z7 II, Z9, D780, D850, D5 and D6; Canon R, R6
Mark II, R5, R3, 6D Mark II, 5D Mark IV, and 1D X Mark III; Panasonic S5, S1R and S1H;
Pentax K-1 Mark II; Sony a7 IV, a7R IV, a7R V, a9, a9 II and a1.
You won't regret getting one of these babies... :D
Lens
The summary is: get a wide angle lens!
The typical focal lengths you would use in night photography go from 10mm to 35mm de-
pending on how much landscape and sky you want to include in the frame. So you could
even get a very cool shot with a fisheye lens, for example.
The shorter the focal length the more sky (that is, meteors) and landscape you'll capture.
In addition to this, the lens should have a very wide aperture (f/1.4, f/2.8...). The aperture
is crucial because the sensor needs to capture as much light as possible. This results in a
picture with the maximum number of stars that look as bright as possible.
Low-end lenses
If you only have a basic 18-55mm lens f/3.5-f/5.6, you shouldn't think twice: invest some
money in a better one.
The lens is an extremely important part of the equation: it's the element that makes the
image. Remember, the camera records it only. Therefore, investing in quality lenses is a
synonym of capturing sharp pictures with less noise (provided they have a wide aperture,
of course).
If you're looking for an affordable wide angle lens, try the Rokinon 14mm f/2.8 with AE
chip and the Irix 15mm f/2.4 Firefly.

Mid-range lenses
For Micro 4/3 cameras all the following lenses are great for night photography:
• Olympus M.Zuiko Digital ED 7-14 mm f/2.8
• Olympus M.Zuiko Digital ED 12-40mm f/2.8 PRO
• Olympus M.Zuiko Digital ED 12mm f/2.0
For APS-C cameras, I'd like to highlight the following lenses:
• Rokinon 12mm f/2.0 or Samyang 12mm f/2.0
• Tokina 11-16mm f/2.8
• Sigma 10-20mm f/3.5
• Sigma 18-35mm f/1.8 Art
• Sigma 17-70mm f/2.8 Macro
For Full Frame cameras, these prime lenses are great:
Keep in mind that these lenses also work on APS-C cameras, but you need to take into ac-
count the crop factor. For example, for a camera with a crop factor of 1.5x, the Rokinon
14mm would be equivalent to 21mm for a Full Frame camera.
High-end lenses
Are you seriously getting into night photography?
Yeah?
Are you sure?
Then, you should have a close look at these beauties... XD

One of my favorite lenses due to its quality is the Nikon 14-24mm f/2.8. It's an incredibly
sharp lens with very little coma and vignetting.
Not only Nikon photographers use it. I've encountered photographers using other camera
brands like Canon and Sony. If you want to use it, make sure to get a top quality adapter
ring like the Novoflex EOS NIK NT.
You also have the iconic Nikon 17-35mm f/2.8. Despite suffering from coma, it's a great
option for Meteor Showers at f/4.
Another alternative, but much more expensive, is the Zeiss 15mm f/2.8. It's an incredi-
bly sharp lens without coma. But it has an over contrasting glass, and this is a problem at
night.
The Nikon 14-24mm f/2.8 will show details in the blacks where the Zeiss only shows pitch
black.
If you're looking for a very sharp lens, try the Tokina 16-28mm f/2.8.
Similarly, the Rokinon 14mm f/2.8 and the Samyang 14mm f/2.8 give exceptional results.
Both lenses have little coma.
On the Canon side, you have the Canon 16-35mm f/2.8L III.
Other awesome lenses are the:
• Tamron 15-30mm f/2.8
• Canon 11-24mm f/4L
• Canon 14mm f/2.8L II
• Sigma 14mm f/1.8 Art
• Sigma 14-24mm f/2.8 Art
Tripod & head
You need a sturdy tripod, a tripod that weighs!
Why?
Because you'll be shooting long exposures. So you need to keep your camera steady and
avoid any vibration that could potentially blur your photos.

Low-end tripod and head
You can't imagine how many students come to my workshops with equipment worth thou-
sands of dollars and who want their $100 tripod and head to be stable and sturdy.
Don't try the impossible. A $100 tripod and head kit is not stable, nor sturdy. Quite the op-
posite in fact.
You risk having a bad experience and losing hundreds of dollars because on a windy day
your tripod fell off and your gear crashed against a rock...
Please invest in high quality gear. It lasts many years and you won't regret it.
Mid-range tripod and head
I've been recommending the Manfrotto 055XPRO3 to a large number of advanced ama-
teur photographers for many years now. It's good value for money and it's a very robust
aluminum tripod.
And you know what? To date, I haven't received any complaints ;)
Another suggestion that I usually make to the students of my workshops is the Travel line
by Benro.
That being said, if you have a slightly higher budget, I suggest you invest in a carbon fiber
tripod. They offer the same strength and stability as an aluminum tripod. But they're much
lighter and your back will be extremely happy.
I mentioned Manfrotto. Have a look also at the tripods from Gitzo, Benro, Induro or Really
Right Stuff. They are fantastic brands as well.
Oh, and make sure they can bear at least between 5 and 25 kg.
High-end tripod and head
As you've probably guessed, the lighter the tripod, the more expensive it will be. Have a look
at the brands I just mentioned: all their carbon fiber tripods are very good.
If you'd ask me where to invest your money (on a good set of tripod legs or on a good head),
the answer is obvious: on a good head.
My favorite ballhead is the Really Right Stuff BH-55.
Although I also like the Gitzo GH1382QD, the Kirk Enterprises BH-1 and the Arca Swiss
Monoball Z1 SP. All of them are extremely solid, reliable and allow you to work with great

precision.
There are many excellent ballheads on the market. Just make sure that the ballhead can
bear between 5 and 7 kg and that it has a removable plate.
Star tracker
An equatorial mount, or star tracker, is a device that automatically rotates your camera
while tracking the stars. This allows you to shoot longer exposures, capturing much more
detail and preventing stars from trailing.
As a result, the image captured is much more spectacular.

The sky of the first image was shot with a star tracker capturing many more stars, and even a meteor!
So if you're shooting a Meteor Shower using a star tracker you can easily create the effect
where all meteors emerge from the Meteor Shower's radiant point.
All you have to do is to stack the images you took for the sky to reveal the meteors cap-
tured, and then blend them with the image you took for the foreground.
In section 7 I'll show you a way to create the same effect without using a star tracker. The
resulting image is this.

Nikon D4s | 14mm | f/2.8 | 30s | ISO 5000
"OK Toni, let's say I want to buy a star tracker. What star tracker should I get?"
You have many options... It would be impossible to list them all here.
The one I use is the iOptron SkyGuider Pro.
The iOptron SkyTracker Pro, the Sky-Watcher Star Adventurer Motorized Mount Photo
Package and the Sky-Watcher Star Adventurer Mini EQ Camera Tracking Mount Head are
also great.
But above all, choose a star tracker that can handle the weight of your camera gear. It's the
most important thing you should consider when getting yours!

Lightning gear
Headlamp
If you're thinking about getting serious in night photography, you should buy a good head-
lamp. Remember that you'll be shooting in the dark, so you'll need some light source to ad-
just your gear, change the settings, and also focus at the hyperfocal distance.
The human eye needs 20 minutes to get used to seeing in the dark. So you should get a RED
Night Vision Light headlamp. It would be a shame to waste that precious time because of a
strong white light...
My favorite ones are the Petzl Tikka XP, the Pelican 2750 and the Pelican 2760.
If you prefer a powerful headlamp without RED Night Vision Light, try the Led Lenser SEO5,
the H14R or the H7R.2.
LED flashlight
In addition to the headlamp, you could eventually get a couple of LED flashlights:
• A powerful flashlight to illuminate subjects over long distances, like the Coast HP7 or
the Led Lenser M7.
• A second less powerful flashlight, such as the Coast TX-10, the Led Lenser L7 or the
Maglite Mini to illuminate foreground subjects.
I use them to add texture and volume to a certain area of the foreground or to a determined
subject. And the best part is that I can do it very precisely.
LED panels
LED panels provide a continuous source of light and are great to illuminate a large area of
the foreground.
If you can, you should bring two with you to the shooting location.

Flash
A flash is a very powerful light source allowing you to freeze your subject, like a model for
example, when shooting a long exposure.
You could hold it by hand. But if you have several flashes, use stands or tripods for flashes
to place them in the scene. If you need to diffuse the light, consider using softboxes or oc-
toboxes.
Colored gels
A gel is a colored plastic sheet that you place in front of the light source to color its light.
There are two types of colored gels (or color correction gels):
• CTB gels (Color Temperature Blue) are great to cool the scene, because they turn tung-
sten light of 3200K into 'daylight' color (5500K).
• CTO gels (Color Temperature Orange) turn 'daylight' color (5500K) into tungsten
(3200K), so you can warm the scene.
The gels come in several intensities or strengths (1/4, 1/2, 3/4, etc.). The lower the intensity,
the less it will correct the color temperature of the scene.
Don't confuse them with the color gels that you can use to accentuate the color lighting of
the scene and to create unnatural effects. The range of colors available is very large (e.g.
red, yellow, green, dark blue, etc.).
Intervalometer
You'll be shooting multiple long exposures to capture as many meteors as possible, re-
member?
So it's essential that you prevent any vibration in your gear (camera, lens, and tripod) at all
costs. Otherwise you're going to end up with a bunch of useless pictures.
With an intervalometer you can:
• Trigger your camera without having to touch it. Bye bye vibrations! :)
• Program it to shoot at regular intervals automatically.

All you have to do is set the shutter speed (exposure time), the time interval between pho-
tos, the total number of photos you plan to take and, eventually, the time delay of the first
picture.
These are the intervalometers I usually recommend:
• Pro intervalometer: SMDV.
• For cheap intervalometers check the brands Neewer, Phottix and Vello.
A great alternative is a device called CamRanger. Right now it's available for Nikon, Canon,
Fuji and Sony cameras.
It's a stand-alone device that you connect to your DSLR or mirrorless camera with a USB ca-
ble. It creates an ad hoc WiFi network to which you can connect your smartphone or tablet
(iOS, Android and Windows). Thanks to the CamRanger application you can control your
camera without a computer or an Internet connection.
Best of all, this device is independent. Therefore, if your mobile device loses its connec-
tion, the CamRanger has an internal memory to keep shooting. Imagine that you are mak-
ing a timelapse, your sequence would be cut if the camera stops taking pictures in the time
frame you've set...
So the CamRanger is great for many types of photos: timelapses (of the Milky Way, of Star
Trails, of solar eclipses or lunar eclipses eclipse...), bracketing, focus stacking for macro
and landscapes... and many more!
Memory cards
I've made clear throughout the article that you'll be shooting multiple long exposures to
capture many meteors and, eventually, capture the Milky Way or create a Star Trails image.
Considering this, your memory card should have:
• A high transfer rate. Each picture is saved into the memory card faster, so the delay
between two consecutive shots is shorter.
• A large capacity of storage (64GB or higher). You need to have enough space to store
all the photos of the shooting session.
"Alright Toni, so what memory cards should I buy?"

My advice in terms of price and availability is that you should definitely buy the highest
quality SD Cards (such as SanDisk or ProGrade).
It's the best option to minimize the risk of losing your photos and have the maximum trans-
fer speed.
Nowadays their price has plummeted so even the highest capacity cards (64GB, 128GB or
even 256GB) have an affordable price.
Before leaving home, always make sure you bring with you several memory cards with
enough capacity. It would be a pity to run out of memory space in the middle of the shoot-
ing session.
At home, test how big your RAW files are (i.e. how many MB one of your photos has). Once
you know the size of one photo (24MB for example), make an educated guess and estimate:
• The shooting interval (e.g. 2s),
• The shutter speed (e.g. 20s), and
• The shooting duration (e.g. 3h).
Then, you can use the PhotoPills Timelapse calculator to find out the total memory usage ;)

PhotoPills Timelapse calculator - Total memory
usage.
PhotoPills Timelapse calculator - Suggested
shooting intervals.
Although there are still cameras that use CompactFlash (CF) cards, it's a system that is
slowly disappearing.
And to replace it, SanDisk, Nikon and Sony launched a new card format called XQD currently
available for several Full Frame (Nikon D4, D4s, D5 and D850; Panasonic S1 and S1R), APS-C
(Nikon D500) and mirrorless (Nikon Z6, Z6 II, Z7 and Z7 II) models. These cards have
• A very high storage capacity (from 32GB to 256GB).
• A super fast reading and recording speed (400MB/s compared to 160MB/s for a CF card
or 250MB/s for an SD card).

• An incredibly high security, resistance and durability.
Later on, in 2017, CFexpress launched the latest standard memory card from the Compact-
Flash Association with 2 new form factors, Type A and Type C were announced, with the ex-
isting XQD form factor becoming Type B.
• Type A has, so far, only been adopted by Sony in all of its newest models.
• Type B is a far more common format offering a lower price. It has been widely adopted
by Nikon in its Z series, Canon in some EOS R bodies, and Panasonic in the S1/S1R and
GH6.
• Type C is not being produced yet.

Section 14:
How to photograph a
Meteor Shower step
by step

Nikon D4s | 35mm | f/1.8 | 15s (Milky Way and meteor) and 25s (foreground) | ISO 1600 | 3150K
First, you chose a strong Meteor Shower from the Calendar (section 1)...
Second, you found a beautiful location with a powerful subject and little light pollution...
Third, you came up with a cool photo idea and followed the steps in section 4 to plan it with
PhotoPills...
You figured out the exact shooting spot and exact shooting date and time to capture the
scene you imagined, with as many meteors as possible!
And FINALLY!
The BIG day is here...
You're patiently waiting at the shooting spot, in front of your amazing subject, for the right
How to photograph a Meteor Shower step by step 92

moment to arrive.
It's time to nail the shot!
Ready?
Follow these steps to successfully photograph the Meteor Shower.
Get to your shooting spot in advance
This step is crucial in photography, no matter the type of picture you plan to take. It allows
you to scout the location in detail and to have enough time to prepare the gear.
More importantly, you can make sure you're at the exact shooting point. And that is the key
to any Meteor Shower picture!
If you've planned your shot with PhotoPills (I hope you did), then you need to be right where
the Red Pin is.

PhotoPills Planner. Map view of the Meteor Shower
radiant and path, and the Meteor Shower
information on Panel 11 at the beginning of the
shooting session.
PhotoPills Planner. Map view of the Meteor Shower
radiant and path, and the Meteor Shower
information on Panel 11 at the end of the shooting
session.
As I explained to you in section 4, use the PhotoPills Augmented Reality view in the field,
before Sunset, to visualize the Meteor Shower radiant position at the beginning and at the
end of the shooting session. So you can have a very precise idea of the path it will follow
across the sky.
This way you can confirm that you're at the right shooting spot and that you have the right
framing.
The cool thing is that the Augmented Reality view works offline as well! ;)

Place the tripod, ballhead, camera, and lens
Place the tripod along with the ballhead on a surface as solid as possible and make sure it's
stable.
Put on the lens that you're going to use during the shooting session and mount the cam-
era and lens on the ballhead. Finally, plug the intervalometer in and check that everything
works fine.
I have to insist... Double check all the equipment is stable. The slightest vibration will cause
the meteors to come out of focus. And that would be a pity!
Remove the UV filter
If you have it on, remove the ultraviolet (UV) filter. It's a completely useless filter in this
type of photography.
Actually, it's a filter that I never use myself because it causes problems when shooting any
kind of picture and the ending result is a low quality image.
Use a light pollution filter (optional)
If there is light pollution in your scene from sodium vapor light sources, you should use a
light pollution filter to remove in camera the yellowish glow they usually produce.
Turn off lens stabilization system
Some lenses include a function to stabilize vibrations. Canon, for example, calls it Image
Stabilization (IS), while Nikon calls it Vibration Reduction (VR), and Sigma, Optical Stabilizer
(OS). Other brands, such as Sony, Olympus and Pentax have been pushing for in-camera
stabilization.
Since the equipment is stable on the tripod and ballhead, the system may try to compen-
sate for non-existing vibrations... and the meteors could end up blurry.
Therefore, as a precaution, I recommend you switch the lens stabilization system off when
using a tripod.

Long exposure noise reduction: on or off?
Noise is one of the greatest enemies of long exposure shots.
Nowadays, almost all cameras include an option to automatically reduce noise in the final
image: the long exposure noise reduction function.
How does it work?
Well, when this function is enabled, right after taking the photo, the camera takes a second
exposure with the same parameters (shutter speed, ISO and aperture) but without letting
any light into the system. This second photo has almost the same noise as the first one.
Finally, the camera detects the noise of this second picture and removes it from the first
one.
In my opinion, this function is not useful in Meteor Shower photography because:
• It's preferable if you shoot much shorter single exposures and if you avoid waiting for
so long to see the picture.
• It consumes battery. You could even run out of battery in the middle of the process and
end up without your photo.
• When shooting multiple short exposures (to do an image stacking later on), you don't
want to have such a big gap between two consecutive photos. It halves the number of
photos you can take (so it reduces by 50% the chance to capture meteors). In this case,
try to take a dark frame at the end of the shooting. Put the cap on the lens and shoot to
capture noise only. Then, use this frame to reduce noise in post-processing.
Summing up...
When photographing a Meteor Shower, and even when photographing the Milky Way, it's
better to turn the long exposure noise reduction off.
Shoot in RAW
Always shoot in RAW!
That way you'll always have a higher quality base image that will allow you to develop, post-
process and correct errors that would otherwise be impossible.
Keep in mind that the image you see on your LCD is a JPEG copy of the RAW file. So the his-
togram you're seeing on camera is not exactly the RAW file one.

Use the shortest focal length you can
Pick the shortest focal length you can (14mm, 18mm, 24mm, etc.).
My advice is that you should try to keep it under 35mm to maximize:
• The field of view and capture as much sky as you can.
• The exposure time (set the lowest possible shutter speed) to collect as much light as
possible and, eventually, capture stars as big bright spots.
You'll increase the chance of capturing a meteor with a wide angle, and it's much easier to
include one or several interesting elements in the foreground.
I'll explain it better in a section below, when going deeper into the shutter speed (exposure
time) settings.
Select the Manual shooting mode (M)
Thanks to the Manual shooting mode (M), you have full control over the aperture, shutter
speed and ISO.
It's the best way to get the perfect exposure in every single shot.
Fine tune your framing
As soon as you get to the location, use the PhotoPills Augmented Reality view included in
the Meteor Shower Pill to locate the radiant of the Meteor Shower (section 4) at the begin-
ning and at the end of the shooting session.

Planner > Night AR. Tap the Night AR option to
visualize the radiant position and path.
Planner > Night AR. Night AR view of the radiant at
the end of the shooting session.
Remember that this is key to visualize the path the radiant will be following in the sky.
Why?
Because you want to make sure you're framing the right area in the sky, based on your de-
sired image:

the radiant.
So, once again, use the Augmented Reality view and recheck the path the radiant will follow
across the sky during the shooting session. It will help you to confirm the shooting spot and
framing.
And if you want to include the Milky Way in the frame, the Augmented Reality view is also a
great tool to visualize the shot. It shows you the exact position the Galactic Center (the red
dot) has at a certain time.
Set the aperture
If you want to capture the largest number of meteors, you need to collect as much light as
possible during the exposure time. So use the widest aperture possible (f/2.8, f/4, depend-
ing on your lens).
The more light the sensor collects, the more meteors and the brighter.
Moreover, it helps you keep the ISO within the limits of your camera so you can control
noise.
Notice that this is exactly the same workflow you should follow in Milky Way and Star Trails
photography.
Select the ISO
Don't be afraid to crank up the ISO. Set the ISO to the maximum value for which your camera
doesn't produce excessive noise (ISO 1600, 3200, 6400 or higher).
The idea here is to play with the ISO to tweak the exposure according to the exposure trian-
gle. I'll show you how in a second ;)

Focus
When it comes to focusing you have two options:
• Focusing at the hyperfocal distance.
• Focusing on one star.
Depending on your taste, choose one or the other.
Focusing at the hyperfocal distance
The easiest way to have both the foreground and the meteors acceptably in focus is to fo-
cus at the hyperfocal distance.
Let me explain...
The hyperfocal distance is the shortest distance at which you can focus to have the stars in
focus (acceptably sharp). In fact, you'll have "acceptably" in focus from half of this distance
to infinity.
It maximizes the depth of field in the scene, which is pretty cool!
How to calculate the hyperfocal distance
Once you've decided the focal length and aperture, use the PhotoPills Depth of Field calcu-
lator to calculate the hyperfocal distance for your camera settings.
As an example, using my Nikon Z6 together with an aperture of f/2.8 and a focal length of
14mm, the hyperfocal distance is 2.32 m.

PhotoPills > Depth of field (DoF) calculator - It shows
the depth of field values in a table for a given
camera, focal length, aperture and focus distance.
The hyperfocal distance appears in the first row.
PhotoPills > Depth of field (DoF) calculator - Swipe
the table to the left to see the Depth of field values
on a picture.
How to focus at the hyperfocal distance
Watch this video to learn how to focus at the hyperfocal distance:

Once you have the hyperfocal distance (2.32 m in this example), make sure you're not fo-
cusing at a shorter distance. If you do, you'll get the meteors completely blurred, even if
you miss the hyperfocal by one inch (or a couple of cm).
It's much better to achieve focus exceeding the hyperfocal distance by 2 feet (or half a me-
ter) rather than falling short. I'm serious, don't fall short!
You can learn all you need to know about the hyperfocal distance and the depth of field with
our extremely detailed DoF Guide.
Lock the focus
After using the automatic focus mode to focus at the hyperfocal distance, set it back to
manual focus. It's the best way to ensure your focus doesn't change.
Always check whether the stars are in focus before starting the shooting.
Finally, you need to take a test shot.
Use the Live View function on the LCD of your camera to focus accurately. And if your cam-
era has the Focus Peaking and/or Focus Magnifier functions, turn them on too because they
will help you to be even more precise.
Now, find a star and zoom in on it to magnify it (or use the Focus Magnifier option). Then,

turn the focus ring to make focus on it. Turn it until you see the star as a tiny little dot (ac-
tually, the smallest possible dot).
Once the camera is attached to the tripod, take as many test shots as you need to see if ev-
erything is in focus and adjust accordingly.
The last thing you want is to spend the whole night in the cold and find out at the end that
your stars are out of focus.
Focusing at one star
If you want the stars to be tack sharp, but you don't mind losing a bit of sharpness in your
subject, then focus on one star.
Set the camera and lens to manual focus.
Now, find a star and zoom in on it to magnify it (or use the Focus Magnifier option). Then,
turn the focus ring to make focus on it. Turn it until you see the star as a tiny little dot (ac-
tually, the smallest possible dot).
Set the shutter speed (exposure time)
You have two conditions that define your shutter speed:
• You need to keep the shutter open as much as possible to capture as much light as
possible, and thus get more stars in the photo.
• You need to limit the exposure time to prevent stars from trailing, and thus get the
stars as big bright spots.
To work out the exposure time you need, use the PhotoPills Spot Stars calculator.
To do so, go to PhotoPills and open the Spot Stars calculator.
Once there, choose your camera and set
• The focal length,
• The aperture,
• The minimum declination of the stars, and
• The accuracy mode (default is the best option in most cases).

If you don't know the minimum declination of the stars you need to set, tap the AR button,
point your smartphone where you're framing the camera and let PhotoPills automatically
calculate the exposure time you need... ;)
Alternatively, if you're in doubt, just set the declination of the stars to 0º.
On the table of results you get two values: the NPF rule and the 500 rule.
The NPF rule gives you a more accurate value than the 500 rule. It even takes into account
the megapixels of your camera.
If you want to learn more about the NPF rule and the 500 rule, you should read section 9 of
our Milky Way photography guide.
Depending on the camera and settings you use, you should use a maximum exposure time
between 10-25s.

PhotoPills > Spot Stars. The NPF rule gives you a
more accurate exposure time.
PhotoPills > Spot Stars > AR. Tap the AR button, point
your smartphone where you're framing the camera
and read the maximum exposure time you need to
use.
Set the white balance manually
If you're shooting in RAW, white balance is something you can adjust in post-processing.
But, since I'm sure you would like to capture the real colors of the stars right in camera, use
the following values as starting points and then adjust it from there:
• If the scene has a dark sky: 3900K

• If there is light pollution in the scene: 3400K
Review the composition, the focus, and the
exposure
You're almost set.
Now, take a test shot. Use it to check the composition (and the radiant position!), that the
focus is right and that the exposure is the one you're looking for (don't forget to examine
the histogram).
You may need to make some adjustments. Maybe you'll have to recompose the shot a bit, or
make focus again, or crack the ISO up (or down) to get the histogram you're looking for as I
was suggesting earlier...
But after a few quick test shots, you should be ready to go :)
Use the intervalometer
First, set the camera to Bulb mode.
Then, set the exposure time in the intervalometer.
Finally, set the shooting interval between two consecutive photos in the intervalometer.
Select a time frame between 2s and 5s to capture the maximum amount of meteors.
Light paint the foreground (optional)
Always add light in the first and in the last pictures of the shooting session!
At the beginning of the shooting session, test your exposure (check the histogram) and the
light painting of the foreground. You may have to take a few test shots to adjust the amount
of artificial light you add to the scene.
Once you're happy with the image, make sure to quickly start the shooting using the inter-
valometer.
At the end of the shooting session, just before stopping the camera, light paint the fore-
ground again. This way, you have at least two great photos from where to choose the fore-
ground for the final image.

To sum it up...
Do you need more help?
Take a look at our Milky Way and Star Trails photography guides. You'll learn everything
you need to imagine, plan and shoot stunning photos of the stars.
And if you want to learn face to face with us, the whole PhotoPills Team, along with a se-
lected group of photography masters, don't miss the PhotoPills Camp!

Section 15:
4 amazing Meteor
Shower photo ideas to
inspire you

From stacking a great number of photos to create Ian Norman's effect or a powerful Star
Trails image to putting together a timelapse video, spending the whole night shooting a
Meteor Shower can be very productive from the creative side.
The following images and videos are the outcome of the Geminids Meteor shower in 2015.
It was on December 14, 2015, around 10 pm local time, when the clouds disappeared from
above our heads, leaving us face to face with one of the most active Meteor Showers we
remember.
We spent the next 5 hours shooting and enjoying the show. What an epic night!
Timelapse (1)
Nikon D4s | 14mm | f/2.8 | 30s | ISO 5000 | The resulting timelapse is the reproduction of
647 images at 24fps.
4 amazing Meteor Shower photo ideas to inspire you 109

Star trails (2)
Nikon D4s | 14mm | f/2.8 | 30s | ISO 5000 | 103 photos edited in Lightroom and stacked with StarStaX
You can create stunning star trails by merging a series of short exposure photos into a sin-
gle image using softwares like StarStaX (Mac, Windows, Linux) or Startrails (Windows).
Check our Star Trails photography guide to learn how to create these images.

Meteor Exploding (3)
Who has seen the explosion of a meteor in the sky?
We did! And with a smoky tail :)
You never know what your camera will capture during the night. Each nightscape is a differ-
ent adventure.

Emerging Meteors (4)
Nikon D4s | 14mm | f/2.8 | 30s | ISO 5000
The image is the result of stacking 120 photos using David Kingham's technique. To create
this stunning effect, I rotated every photo around the Polaris to keep the radiant point of
the Meteor Shower in the same place. This proves that all meteors appear to originate from
one single point in the sky: the radiant.
If you want to use this technique, just make sure you frame the polaris or the southern ce-
lestial pole to have a reference when rotating each frame.
If you're using a star tracker and you want to create this effect all you have to do is
• Stack the images you took for the sky,
• Reveal the meteors captured, and then
• Blend it with the image you took for the foreground.

A shooting star with the Milky Way (5) [bonus track]
Nikon D4s | 35mm | f/1.8 | 15s (Milky Way and meteor) and 25s (foreground) | ISO 1600 | 3150K
Photographing the Milky Way during a Meteor Shower peak night is an amazing idea :)
All you have to do is to choose a powerful Meteor Shower and plan a legendary Milky Way
shot for the peak night.
Obviously this can be easily planned with PhotoPills ;)
In this guide, you've learnt how to plan any Meteor shower in section 4. If you're curious
and want to learn how to plan the Milky Way, check section 7 of our Milky Way Photogra-
phy guide.

Congratulations!
You made it!
You've reached the end of this long (long) guide.
Now you're more than capable of planning and shooting any Meteor Shower photo you
imagine ;)
It's time to practice so...
Join the quest!
Pick a Meteor Shower, choose a location and plan a legendary photo. Then, go and capture
it!
If you don't get the picture you were looking for, come back to this guide and learn to im-
prove.
And if you have any questions, leave a comment below.
I'm ready to help!
But, if you nail the shot, congrats!
Did you know we're rewarding creativity?
Participate in the PhotoPills Awards...
Join the quest! 115

PhotoPills > Awards. Participate in the PhotoPills
Awards, get featured and inspire other PhotoPillers.
PhotoPills > Awards. All featured images include the
story and the EXIF data.
Get featured on our Instagram account (@photopills), compete to become the next Pho-
toPiller of the Month or even the PhotoPiller of the Year and win up to $6,600 in cash
prices...
But more importantly, you'll help thousands of PhotoPillers while becoming a Legend!
Many PhotoPillers, photographers like you and me, have already been featured. See all the
photos on our Instagram feed or within the PhotoPills app (PhotoPills > My Stuff > Awards).
Can't wait to see your photos :D
You're just ONE plan away...
Join the quest! 116

Happy Meteor Showers!
Join the quest! 117

Antoni Cladera is a landscape photographer with commitment to the environment. Artist
of the Spanish Confederation of Photography and member of the Spanish Association of
Nature Photographers (AEFONA). He's part of the PhotoPills Team.
Special thanks to Sandra Vallaure, a great photographer and friend, for her tremendous
help in making this article possible.
Note: Some links on this page are affiliate links. What does this mean? If you buy/rent using
these links you're helping support us and it costs you nothing extra. Thank you for your
support.
Join the quest! 118

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