PEI

Island photographer captures shot of Geminid meteor shower

A P.E.I. photographer snapped an incredible shot of the Geminid meteor showers late last week.

'You just have to let the camera run and hope something falls in frame'

'This one shot just happened to be pointed in the right direction and three fell within a minute,' says photographer Stephen DesRoches. (Stephen Desroches Photography)

A P.E.I. photographer snapped an incredible shot of the Geminid meteor showers late last week.

Stephen DesRoches is an Island photographer known for great shots of the night sky. 

"It's been rare these past few weeks that we've had such a clear night," DesRoches said. "So I went to where I knew it was pitch black and as free of light pollution as possible."

While in Cavendish on P.E.I.'s North Shore, he captured this shot of three shooting stars streaking across the starry sky, including the Milky Way. 

"I stayed out till about 3:30, 4 a.m.," on Thursday night, DesRoches said. 

'Quite frustrating'

He said it was the best shot he got all night — and it was tricky to capture. He heard there were 120 meteors per hour Thursday night, but he wasn't able to see that many.

"It was happening in all directions, so it was quite frustrating that it was always off-camera," he said. "You just have to let the camera run and hope something falls in frame." 

DesRoches said he hopes to include the shot in a book called Night Sky he plans to publish this spring with Acorn Press. 

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With files from Laura Chapin