After suffering through forecasts of cloudy, clear, cloudy, clear, the sky finally cleared up nicely in time for the annual Perseid meteor shower. I set up the camera around 11:00 p.m., and stayed out taking long exposures until 3:30 a.m. when a bank of clouds rolled in and spoiled the fun. I would have stayed til dawn, it was a good show. Unfortunately the only "small" lens I have only stops down to 5.6, I need a wide angle lens that stops down (or is it up on the wider open?) to 2.8 or even 1.4 . Something that is faster and more light-sensitive at any rate. I see the ol' "toys budget" being blown on a new lens in the near future. I'm in withdrawal this weekend, cloudy skies. The Kappa Cygnids, a minor meteor shower, is coming on the 18th, if it's clear, I'll be out there.
Something else I'll have to save for is a decent telescope if this obsession continues. The Chapters Bookstore gift certificate was burning a hole through my wallet, I finally got Terrence Dickinson's book Night Watch, good all-around astronomy book. There are nebulas and galaxies waiting for my peering eyes to scope them out. I found the Andromeda galaxy last week through binoculars. Now I'm wanting bigger and brighter. Some women settle for shoes or jewelry. I want the very stars!
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