Lyrids and Milky Way over Plumas County California
by Mike Lee
Title
Lyrids and Milky Way over Plumas County California
Artist
Mike Lee
Medium
Photograph - Digital Photography
Description
The Lyrid meteor shower peaks each April as Earth passes through debris left behind by Comet Thatcher. Known for producing bright meteors with fast trails, the Lyrids have been observed for over 2,500 years, making them one of the oldest recorded meteor showers. Their radiant point—near the bright star Vega in the constellation Lyra—is well placed in the sky when the Milky Way's galactic core rises, making it a compelling subject for nightscape photography.
For several years, I'd hoped to capture meteors near the galactic core during the Lyrids, but weather, moonlight, or the lure of sleep always got in the way. On this particular April morning, however, everything lined up. The moon rose around 3:30 a.m. as a 33% waning crescent—bright enough to gently light the foreground without washing out the stars. I shot for about an hour during the final stretch of astronomical darkness, spotting only five meteors in total. The glow in the lower left of the final image is that moon just before it broke over the horizon. Fortunately, the two brightest meteors appeared just minutes after I began shooting and were actually in the frame (I’ll take luck over skill any day). The foreground was lit by a separate two-minute exposure taken after I finished shooting the sky frames, from a roadside pullout along the Janesville Grade near Antelope Lake in Plumas County. Though this area has been hit hard by wildfires in recent years, I’ve come to appreciate the stark rocky landscape and the seasonal creek below, which still carries water this time of year.
𝘈 𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘪𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘱𝘪𝘦𝘤𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘳-𝘨𝘢𝘻𝘦𝘳𝘴, 𝘴𝘤𝘪-𝘧𝘪 𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘴, 𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘴𝘦 𝘥𝘳𝘢𝘸𝘯 𝘵𝘰 𝘤𝘰𝘴𝘮𝘪𝘤 𝘸𝘰𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘳. 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘳𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘢𝘭𝘪𝘨𝘯𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘔𝘪𝘭𝘬𝘺 𝘞𝘢𝘺 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘓𝘺𝘳𝘪𝘥 𝘮𝘦𝘵𝘦𝘰𝘳𝘴 𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘢 𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘲𝘶𝘪𝘭 𝘤𝘢𝘭𝘪𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘯𝘪𝘢 𝘭𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘴𝘤𝘢𝘱𝘦 𝘮𝘢𝘬𝘦𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘢 𝘤𝘢𝘱𝘵𝘪𝘷𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘥𝘥𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘰 𝘮𝘰𝘥𝘦𝘳𝘯 𝘩𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘴, 𝘰𝘧𝘧𝘪𝘤𝘦𝘴, 𝘰𝘳 𝘮𝘦𝘥𝘪𝘵𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘴𝘱𝘢𝘤𝘦𝘴. 𝘈 𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘧𝘦𝘤𝘵 𝘢𝘤𝘲𝘶𝘪𝘴𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘪𝘥𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘗𝘭𝘶𝘮𝘢𝘴 𝘊𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘵𝘺 𝘰𝘳 𝘷𝘪𝘴𝘪𝘵𝘰𝘳𝘴 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘧𝘰𝘯𝘥 𝘮𝘦𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘈𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘭𝘰𝘱𝘦 𝘓𝘢𝘬𝘦.
Uploaded
April 22nd, 2025
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