The Geminid meteor shower 2024 will be spoiled by bright moonlight during peak activity, but there are ways you can still capture photos of Geminids this year.
The peak of a meteor shower can be a delicate thing to observe, even for showers with good rates.
For the best views, you need the shower radiant at a decent altitude, clear weather and no Moon to interfere.
For the Geminid meteor shower 2024 peak on the night of 13/14 December, only one of these conditions will be certain and that’s the height of the radiant.
Here we'll show you how to employ a few techniques that will help you photograph a Geminid trail under skies heavily illuminated by moonlight.
Find out more info in our guide on how to photograph the Geminid meteor shower.
The problem with the 2024 Geminid shower
We can’t predict what the weather will be, but we can predict that the Moon will definitely be a nuisance during the 2024 Geminid meteor shower.
Virtually full throughout the nights when Geminid activity is highest, the Moon is also positioned fairly near the radiant.
If there is any haze or mist present, this will be amplified by moonlight to create a natural meteor-reducing filter.
But surprisingly, while the visual experience will be greatly diminished, it is still possible to catch Geminids using a camera under such extreme conditions.
Photographing a meteor shower
For general meteor shots under dark-sky conditions, the basic technique is to set camera sensitivity high and take an exposure of sufficient length to deliver a bright but not over-exposed result.
This is then repeated continuously throughout the night.
Typically, 30–60-second exposures are best, but for light-polluted skies this could drop to as low as 10 seconds.
However, go below 10 seconds and the time it takes your camera to move the recorded image to storage before starting the next exposure will become significantly wasteful, resulting in a lot of dead imaging time.
How to beat the Moon
Bright moonlight is essentially natural light pollution, and the closer to the Moon you point your camera the brighter this will be, leading to shorter maximum exposures before reaching over-exposure.
Pointing your camera further from the Moon’s position will allow you to achieve a decent length of exposure in which meteors will record.
Set your camera’s ISO to a mid-range value and using a fast widefield lens, say near to 18mm focal length, take a test 10-second exposure and examine the result.
If it looks pure white, the sky is too bright and you’ll need to lower your ISO or close the lens down slightly.
If it’s less than over-exposed, you’re good to go for a moonlight meteor hunt.
Make sure you have a decent amount of storage and plenty of charged batteries.
Keep an eye out for the formation of dew over a long December night too.
One benefit of a bright Moon is that this is pretty easy to spot on the front surface of the lens. You can remove it using a 12V hairdryer.
If you do manage to capture a photograph of a Geminid during the peak, despite the Moon, we'd love to see it! Share with us via contactus@skyatnightmagazine.com.
