Little Bit Of Night Sky For Everyone

I probably got a total of about three hours of sleep on the night/morning of July14-15, 2012, viewing a very busy celestial show that included meteor streaks, planets and the moon in conjunction and an Auroral display. Unfortunately the bright meteor streak image I was lucky enough to capture turned out mushy--due to a gathering ground fog. That photo was shot around 11:00 PM, July 14 during which time I was on alert at a position just north of Echo Hill Presbyterian Church near Marion, Iowa for the expected arrival of the Northern Lights. I gave up that vigil around 11:30, went home to get a little sleep, then got up again and drove to downtown Cedar Rapids, to compose a shot of the Moon, Venus and Jupiter in the east sky overlooking the Cedar River and the Quaker Oats cereal plant from 1st Street NW (top image). Upon returning from that location I decided at the last minute to check out the Echo Hill location one more time. Great decision--the Aurora Borealis were very active (bottom image), with streamer tops reaching as much as 36 degrees above the northern horizon. Temperatures were 68 degrees F with 94% humidity and minimal interference from insects. The auroral display continued until it became washed out by the approaching glow of sunrise. The constellation Ursa Major (Big Dipper) can be seen at left. Top photo was shot at 3:47 AM, and was a three second exposure at f/16, ISO 1000 and 22mm focal length; bottom photo was shot at 4:32 AM, and was an eight second exposure at f/4.5, 1250 ISO and 18mm focal length.