Obscured Scorpius

A combination of light pollution and haze all but obscured the fainter stars of the prominent summer constellation Scorpius (center) as seen from the grounds at Noelridge Christian Church in Cedar Rapids, Iowa around 10:10 PM, Saturday, July 16, 2011. The brightest of the visible stars is the red giant Antares (left center), a 1.03 magnitude star 800 times the size of the sun located 600 light-years away. Here on Earth, the heat from the day had not all left at this hour: it was still 81 degrees F outside. This view looks south over the Colton Condominiums and Boyson Road NE. The image is a 30 second exposure at f/16, 250 ISO and 18mm focal length.