Dippin' Into The Trees

The Big Dipper, the familiar asterism of the constellation Ursa Major, stands out starkly in the northwest sky despite competition from a half moon around 8:19 PM, Friday, September 21, 2012. This image, shot from Bowman Woods Park in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, is a six-second exposure at f/6.3, 3200 ISO and 34mm focal length. The three bright stars of the dipper's "handle" are, from left: Alkaid, Mizar (with dimmer companion Alcor) and Alioth. The top two "pan" stars are, from left: Megrez and Dubhe. The bottom two stars are: Phecda and Merak. All are from 78-121 light years from Earth.