Rod waited for an hour from 4.20 am on Zeerust Rd to capture the annual visit by the Lyrids, which occurs between April 16 and 25.
Rod said he was facing north-east when he took the shot at 5.10 am.
The Tasmanian-born photographer said capturing the shower was a technical challenge but well worth it.
“It was beautifully serene standing out in the early morning, watching the night sky unfold with the passing Lyrids, satellites and noisy frogs. The heavy moisture in the air was reminiscent of a Tasmanian morning,” he said.
“I was very focused on the technical side of getting the shot right, so the time passed quickly. Each shot took 30 seconds — any slower and the stars would be streaked.”
Rod used a Nikon D4 set to f/28 on a tripod. The lens was set to 17 mm and manual focus set to infinity.
“I saw five meteors to my naked eye that were stronger than in the photo but they were out of lens range. The area of field was larger and higher than I thought. The ones in the photo I did not see with my naked eye,” he said.
The Lyrids are one of the oldest observed meteor showers, with ancient Chinese texts recording them as "falling like rain" in the year 687 BC.
If you have any photos from this week's Lyrid meteor shower we would love to see them!
Send them to editor@sheppnews.com.au
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