Geminid meteor shower, December 2023
I took this picture at my favorite observing spot in Muskoka, 2 hours north of Toronto – not quite enough to escape the light pollution of the big city, which can be seen near the horizon. On the bright side, it does lend a warm glow to the scene that contrasts nicely with the cooler palette of the sky. The haze and thin clouds give the stars a nice round fuzzy appearance, and help to bring out their colours (like the red giant Betelgeuse on the left shoulder of Orion). The Orion Nebula can be seen in Orion’s sword, and the Flame Nebula can be seen beside the left star in Orion’s belt.
37 Geminid meteors were captured in multiple exposures over 4 hours. Each meteor is aligned and added to the base image to create the final composite, which places the meteor in the proper position relative to the background stars. This emphasizes how all the meteors originate from the same point in the sky (in Gemini, off the top left corner of the picture)