Skip to main content

Eta Aquarids - 2017

As luck would have it, the first two nights I was back in Northlandia coincided with the annual Eta Aquarids meteor shower.  I juiced up the camera battery, put the tripod in the back of the truck, threw on some warm clothes and headed out to a spot near the Grind that is a favorite of mine.  It is a lone roadway to a circular cul-de-sac that exists to 1) either be a lane for future businesses or 2) a landing pad for UFO's.  

 As I was setting up and relearning my settings for nightime pictures I saw a couple nicely brilliant meteors to the south.  I pointed the camera there and for the next hour and a half I took 60 second pictures hoping for the best.

 Sadly, hoping doesn't make for great pictures with falling stars streaming from the heavens.   These are the only pictures worth even a glance.  A perfect Monday morning mess of Meh.  Nothing here to look at, folks, so keep moving on.     




































Three points before I let you go to conquer whatever you will conquer today.  (After you conquer your oatmeal.)

 One, I was able to work one of the functions of the camera that allowed me to set it up and the camera would automatically snap pics by itself every 30 seconds thus allowing me to walk aimlessly enjoying the evening sky and watching for meteors or landing UFO's. 

 Secondly, I was colder than Hell to coin an awkward metaphor.  In fact I was cold most of the time I was up there, which was just fine with me.  Loved it.  I slept with the electric blanket on most nights and reveled in the toasty coziness of it all. 


I'll close this worthless post with a bit of a teaser.  While back in Northlandia and savoring the wonderful unmolested night sky I had a couple outings that, in my humble estimation, are quite fascinating and beautiful Milky Way pictures.   You will get them soon, and if your subscription is about to lapse, you will want to re-subscribe so as not to miss these gems. 

 Now, go conquer! 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Flashback Friday

Class, Or Lack Thereof The Dwight Vice gravestone in Oquawka, Illinois. I bring this old chestnut out every so often just to remind me that class is classless.  Dwight Vice was killed in his home near Oquawka in 2001.  It was one of those things that can generate crime:  two guys thought Dwight had a lot of money stashed at home because of his pot-selling sideline to supplement his fishing job.   Not really one of those big drug deals gone-bad things.  Marijuana was, according to the trial, about the only stuff Dwight sold.   But these two guys barge into the house and killed Dwight and attempted to kill his 11 year old kid, Darryl, before they took off with what money they could find.   His son, now 23, was stabbed in the back and left for dead.  He survived and is wheelchair bound and has undergone several surgeries to repair his wounds.  He will be paralyzed for life.   None of this is pleasant.  Reading the facts of the murder and attempted murder are most unpleasant
Post a Comment
Read more

Summer Swim

It's Monday and the start of another work week.  Except for me.  I have the week off because the parents of my daycare charges are taking the week off, too. This is one of those wordless posts I love on Mondays so I can put my laziness in full view of loyal readers.  These pics need no words.  Why muddy the waters?   They were taken at the pool at Sinkhole Estates aka Death Valley.  The nice thing about this pool is it is heated in winter.  If one must find positives in one's situation, I suppose that is one.  But, please, no more.   
Post a Comment
Read more

Florida Air Museum - Part 3

Welcome back to a pretty neat tour of the Florida Air Museum in Lakeland Florida.  There's a lot to see and a couple of the old Geezer Gold Wing guys are already sitting down instead of walking around looking at the exhibits. That's John who is wore out and making a call to his wife.  In all honesty, John was pretty well bushed before the ride.  He told me his daughter's family was down from one of the Carolina's with the grand kids and he must have played with them too much.   He's about to take off on his own and head for home, but he's going to miss a couple of neat things out on Hangar A.   But, before we walk over there, we have lots yet to see here.  If you saw The Aviator with Leonardo DiCaprio playing Howard Hughes, you'll remember that he went up in a plane during the filming of one of his movies to prove a point about flying.  He crashed trying to execute a roll and this is a picture of the plane he crashed.  Note the propeller
1 comment
Read more