August 1999

	Scorpius and the Milky Way There were no artificial lights on the ground and the zodiacal light was very bright in the truly dark sky. This was what it had been like in Geisei before light-pollution set in. Although light pollution is problematic today, I was able to see the frighteningly bright Milky Way on the first clear night after continuing torrential rains. This photograph of the Milky Way and Scorpius was taken on August 9, 1992. Nikon FM 28mm f/2.8 A 10-minute exposure on ISO 400 film

	A Perseid meteor From the evening of August 12 to the early morning of August 13, I attempted to shoot Perseids by operating three cameras, but I wasn't able to capture particularly bright meteors. The only one visible in this photo is a reddish meteor of a 0-magnitude brightness captured by a 24mm camera directed to the north. The exposure is 30 minutes. The constellation of Cassiopeia is clearly visible. The stars above the electricity pole are those of Perseus. The photo below shows the meteor magnified.