Night Sky At The DAEC

The top image is one of 118 images used to create the "stacked" image below.  The images look northeast over the Duane Arnold Energy Center (DAEC) about two miles north of Palo, Iowa, seen from an open area just off Power Plant Road, which leads into the facility. Each image was a 30-second exposure at f/4.5, 320 ISO and 18mm focal length. Total time to create the bottom image (using StarStaX software) was from 10:33-11:39 PM, Sunday, September 9, 2012. The DAEC, which became operational in 1974, is Iowa's only nuclear power plant.