Perseids Meteor Shower 2009 - August 12th

I've been looking into building a meteor camera to complement my observatory setup.
I am looking at this kit:
0.0001 Lux Camera with Mono 1/3” SONY EXview HAD CCD Chip from www dot 2mcctv dot com
2.9mm CS mount Lens: www.maplin.co.uk/Module.aspx?ModuleNo=12945
Would this be good enough?
Any drawbacks of it?

Regards & Thanks,

Michael.

Just came across a couple of interesting articles about meteor cameras:

transientsky.wordpress.com/2009/08/15/th...salsa-meteor-camera/

www.cloudynights.com/ubbthreads/showflat...3081824/Main/3079545

Food for thought.

Michael.

Hi Michael
I would recommend ‘Watec’ cameras for their superior low light capabilities and build quality which has proven itself with many observers using these cameras for not only meteor detection but also for other atmospheric phenomena research. I would go for the ½” CCD version of the Watec camera for better resolution. Either 902DM2S or 1/2" 902H Ultimate would be excellent camera to have.
The lens I would recommend is Computar CBC fast 1/2" aspherical type, usually between f0.8 and f1.0 in 6 mm, 8mm or 12mm types I would recommend. They are difficult to obtain now since they have stopped manufacturing them. I am not sure as to what company is now manufacturing fast aspherical lens.
Frame grabbers I would recommend Canopus ADVC-55 (Fire wire), or a cheaper but also good alternative is K-World frame grabber USB 2.0. Any good quality outdoor security housing should suffice. I would recommend ‘UFO Capture’ software; this is a serious piece of software for motion detection and has proven itself for years with many observers all over the world.
You can PM me and I will forward more information and pictures of the system.

Clear skies
Mike

I'm operating an all-sky camera here outside Bray. It's not really geared towards recording dim meteor showers but bright fireballs that may potentially drop a rock to the ground. You can see the general setup at theochrasouthobservatory.blogspot.com/ (which badly needs to be updated!) The camera is a Sony HB710E 0.0005lux and I am now using a Canopus ADVC110 firewire frame grabber. I've recorded plenty of fireballs over the past year... and the mating dance of a pair of nymphomaniac spiders who seem oblivious to the camera just inches away from them under the acrylic dome!! :-)

I was in Connemara for the Persieds... under blanket cloud and lashing rain!

Phil.

Hey Michael & All,
We spent last week at Mt.Parnon for the Perseids Meteor Shower 2009!
You know well the place from last year but this year the experience with
the watec cameras and the ufocapture -as mentioned above- was fantastic.
We had special visitors from DLR in Germany with these special SPOSH cameras
for meteor research.
Unfortunately the thread in our site is in Greek,
www.spartastronomy.gr/astroteams/diatodes
but you may have info about MRG, the SPOSH cameras and DLR using the links.
Also you may check the video of Vagelis captured with watec902 and
computar lenses.
These cameras are really amazing for an eclipse too!
Watch the details from China with the watec1000 of Vagelis!(he has a collection):woohoo:
www.spartastronomy.gr/astroteams/eclipse

Keep in touch,
yiannis

Yiannis,

First off, I enjoyed those eclipse videos and I'm delighted you all got to see it.
Have you guys considered going on the next one or will you take a break for a few years?

Those SPOSH cameras look amazing! Very fancy shutters!
I google-translated the page so I got a rough idea of what it is about.

A few questions:

Is that a thermo-electric cooler on the back of the camera or just a fan?
What kind of exposure times were used and can you adjust this precisely?
What GPS Time Inserter kit was used?
Was there much loss (if any) in video quality by the time is was uploaded to youtube?

Thanks,

Michael.