I photographed the Northern Lights and a Perseid meteor in the identical body – and I used one of many least expensive lenses in my bag

Astrophotography to me has at all times appeared like a combination between planning, approach – and sheer luck. I used to be photographing the Northern Lights just a few days in the past once I managed to seize one other astrophotography phenomenon in the identical body: a Perseid meteor.

While photographing the Northern Lights requires superb situations and the lights are sometimes short-lived, that’s not solely true for the Perseids. The meteors nonetheless want clear skies and low gentle air pollution, however they’re hardly a one-night-only present. While the Perseid meteors peak August 12-13, the meteor bathe stretches from July 17 by August 24, leaving loads of room to re-plan if clouds get in the way in which.

I took this photograph on August 2, a full ten days earlier than the height of the meteor bathe would heighten my possibilities of catching one – or a number of – in the identical body.

The difficult half about photographing the Perseids is that if I wait till I see one streak throughout the sky, I’ve already missed my shot. Catching the meteors on camera typically involves a long exposure time and taking multiple shots.