Celestial Confetti

Hundreds of stars sparkle across the southeast sky like confetti as seen from Radio Road just northeast of Marion, Iowa and .3 mile east of Highway 13 around 7:40 PM, Monday, January 30, 2012. Prominent among the myriad pinpoints of light is the constellation Orion (center), with the glow from NGC 2024 Diffuse Nebula, NGC 1977 Open Cluster and NGC 1976 Nebula in the left belt and scabbard areas clearly seen. The bright object at center lower is the -1.47 magnitude star Sirius in the constellation Canis Major (Larger Dog) and at far left is Procyon, at magnitude 0.37, in Canis Minor (Smaller Dog). Both stars are relatively close to Earth with Sirius being 8.6 light years away and Procyon at 11 light years away. A very faint Milky Way strip, overpowered by urban lights, runs vertically between Procyon and Sirius. This image is a 30 second exposure at f/5.6, ISO 320 and 18mm focal length.