GEMINID METEOR OVER STONEHENGE

The Geminids are the brightest, most consistent and active annual meteor shower, peaking annually on 13-14 December. I negotiated agreement from English Heritage to lead a small group of astrophotography enthusiasts to Stonehenge on a freezing evening to try and photograph meteors over the stone circle. We composed with the most impressive sarsen trilothons and the bluestones as foreground, looking towards the meteor radiant in the constellation of Gemini, including the bright stars of Orion and Sirius in the frame. To try and catch a meteor, we made a series of 15 second exposures, during each of which I lit the stones by torchlight. Eventually on the 97th frame out of 125 (by which time hoar frost had formed on my camera and tripod), I was rewarded with a bright meteor heading straight out Gemini toward Sirius.

F/6.3, 15 seconds, ISO 1250
Accepted: Bristol 2015, Olympic (Greece) 2015 - Hermes