On Saturday May 7, 2011 I decided to try and photograph the Eta Aquarids meteor shower. This was my first attempt at capturing such an event and I had heard from various reports that between 12 and 40 meteors an hour were supposed to fall from 3:30 until 5:30 early that morning. The Eta Aquarids is one of the two meteor showers each year that result from the Earth passing through the dust released by Halley’s Comet. I traveled to Little Mulberry Park in Dacula, the highest point in Gwinnett County and met with Daniel Herron from the Atlanta Astronomy Club. I am pleased with the images I captured from that morning however I only witnessed one distinct meteor falling through the atmosphere and my camera was pointed in the wrong direction.
A telescope sits pointed towards the stars at Little Mulberry Park in Dacula as people try to spot meteors falling during the Eta Aquarids shower early Saturday morning on May 7, 2011.
Spectators use red tinted flashlights to find their way through the dark at the observation point at Little Mulberry Park in Dacula as they set up to catch a glimpse of the Eta Aquarids meteor shower on Saturday May 7, 2011.
The observation point at Little Mulberry Park in Dacula is the highest point in Gwinnett County.
Lawrenceville resident Jeff Rebitzke adjusts his telescope as he watches for meteors at Little Mulberry Park in Dacula during the Eta Aquarids shower on Saturday May 7, 2011.
The sky tints orange as light from surrounding cities filter through the night on Saturday May 7, 2011.