Shining Through Altocumulus

The eastern sky was crowded with altocumulus clouds (a precursor to the arrival of freezing rain in less than 24 hours here) on Wednesday evening, December 18, 2013, but it wasn't enough to cover the brightest objects in the sky. The moon, just past full, kept its disk shape amid the drifting clouds, while the -2.66 magnitude planet Jupiter--about 5 degrees from the moon--blinked in and out of the openings. These images were captured from Brentwood Drive NE in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. The top image was shot around 8:44 PM CST with a 1.3-second exposure at f/11, 2000 ISO and 38mm focal length. The bottom image was shot three minutes later with a 1.2-second exposure at f/11, 2000 ISO and 86mm focal length.