"High Wind Warning" Granite Dam Overlook in Curt Gowdy State Park, Wyoming January 3, 2021 (Quadrantid Meteor Shower peak) Composite of multiple images: Nikon D750 camera, with Irix Blackstone 15mm f/2.4 lens ISO 800, f/2.8, 15 seconds for night sky and meteors; ISO 200, f/8, 30 seconds for foreground during nautical twilight before sunrise. I was shooting continuously from 2109 to 0627 Mountain Time: The sky was cloudy until about 2330, then remained clear. I captured a total of 74 meteors: Most were faint, as the moon (88 percent illumination waning) was close to the radiant all night. Fortunately, light pollution is minimal (Bortle 3) at the location. Time of the radiant in the sky: 0000. Temperature range: 24-29 degrees F. Wind speed 36-42 mph sustained, with gusts up to 70 mph, that did not stop once the whole night, which made shooting conditions difficult because the camera was shaking even on a heavily sandbagged tripod.

Wendelboe Heather
© BOLO Photo (Heather M. Wendelboe)