The Perseid Meteor shower peaked Saturday night as the Earth passes through the dust left by the Swift-Tuttle comet. I think I saw more shooting stars, sitting out for the few hours that I did, than the total I have seen for the past decade.
The five shooting stars in this image are from a composite of three 15-second exposures (though the three meteorites on the right hand side were all from the same individual picture).
Also in this picture is an example of “airglow” a phenomenon similar to the Aurora but less intense. Airglow is caused by the steady stream of radiation from the sun and while it is not typically visible to the unaided eye, it shows up in long exposure photos.
Special thanks to the Keweenaw Mountain Lodge, the Keweenaw Dark Sky Park, and Chris Guibert for hosting and organizing a Perseid Meteor Shower Party. There were about 20 Dark Sky enthusiasts and other photographers taking in the meteorite show and hanging out under the stars. It was a lot of fun.