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Jose Lagos
Vaals, Netherlands
12/14/2020
07:28 am

Equipment Details:

Olympus SP565UZ camera, manual mode, ISO 3200, 15 sec. open shutter, f/2.8, focal length 5mm.

Post-processing Details:

None

Image Details:

The cloudy, drizzly sky opened up, just around Gemini constellation, which was standing vertically now (7:28am) beginning to head towards the western horizon. ( Castor and Pollux are top middle, Capella top far right, beehive in Cancer is top middle left) I had already seen a few great fireballs, but when I looked in their direction new ones always appeared elsewhere. Finally I just focused on Gemini, the radiant, and hoped for something, clicking one high-ISO, 15 sec photo after another. Even though the pesky motion sensor lamps came on around the building, flooding the shot with light, the Geminid fireball was impossible to miss as it made a direct, friction-rich, mushrooming entry into earth's atmosphere, top left corner. It was a surprise to see just what the camera happened to catch! Now I trust the long exposure shots more than my own eyes! Just keep clicking and you'll get a hit, sooner or later.

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