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The Geminid Meteor Shower Viewed From Our Home in Big Canoe Was Spectacular!
By djelliott999 | December 14, 2007
Here in the North Georgia mountains the stars are shining brightly above us, and the meteors are flying fast and furious. We have been observing the Geminid meteor show since around midnight and desperately trying to get a good picture. Getting a good picture of the sky is one thing, getting ANY picture of a fiery ball of cosmic dust is a whole nother story!
We set the camera up on the tripod, and set the aperture and shutter for its max (around 30 secs). The trick is to click at the right moment. Tonight, we did not get the “killer shot” we wanted. We were able to see Mars making a great display however! We also witnessed aboout 60-70 meteors an hour by rough calculation - which makes a pretty good shower in my estimation!
Let me mention that prior to our move from the suburbs, bearing witness to this display of natural beauty would have been impossible. Why? Light pollution. Yes, I know it sounds crazy, but when we originally moved to our old home in metro Atlanta, there was no light pollution. That is, at night we could see the stars, we could see the planets, we could see the meteor showers. And, as it happens, progress developed the landscape. The landscape changed to streets lined with sodium vapor lights that flooded the sky with year round incandescense all through the night. The nightscape was gone.
When we moved to the community of Big Canoe, once again, we could see the skies! I know it sounds a little hokey and trite, but tonight we sat in our driveway and witnessed one of the most beautiful meteor showers I have ever seen. I stopped counting after 20 or so in the first 15 minutes. Watching this incredible display would have been impossible in metro Atlanta. Am I glad that I moved away from all the conveniences of the suburbs? Away from all the shopping choices? It’s a trade-off I guess. There is much to be said for the conveniences of the suburbs. But, tonight I sat in my driveway, sipped wine, the scent of smoke from someone’s fire hung in the air, and I got to witness natural beauty. Sure, I have to drive a little further to get to the mall, but after watching the sky tonight, I can say without any hesitation that I would never trade my view of the sky for the convenience of the mall.
Topics: All Posts, Amenities and Activities, Big Canoe Real Estate |
February 21st, 2008 at 1:02 pm
[...] We enjoyed the lunar eclipse last night from our front yard here in the North Georgia mountain community of Big Canoe. There were some fast moving wispy clouds that occasionally interfered with our view of the moon, but overall it was an excellent show. Not as exciting as the Geminid meteor shower back in late 2007, but it was still a good time. Here in Big Canoe, the show started around 10:00 PM and was all done around 11:00 PM. Viewing the night sky here is easy as we do not have much light pollution in the North Georgia mountains. The only real disturbance we encountered was something large crunching through the woods nearby…most likely a deer, but I opted not to go investigate. As I mentioned in my blog about the meteor shower, being able to enjoy this kind of natural beauty from my front yard is one of the perks that comes with living in the peace and quiet of our mountains here in Big Canoe. [...]