Star Captures

The top image is a stacked composite of 86 separate images taken from 8:44-9:30 pm CDT, Saturday, March 28, 2015. Each image is a 30-second exposure at f/5, 200 ISO and 18mm focal length. The camera was allowed to shoot continuously by locking the remote cord to "on." The images looks north along Jordans Grove Road NE of Marion, Iowa. A half-moon and light pollution from the foreground made achieving a dark sky very difficult. The star Polaris can be seen at top center. The middle image is one of the 86 images shot from above. Across the bottom image from left can be seen: the constellations Orion and Taurus, the star cluster Pleiades and the -4.01 magnitude planet Venus. This image was captured at 9:34 pm and is a nine-second exposure at f/5, 800 ISO and 18mm focal length. The horizon glow is from the city of Marion. Air temperature during this time was 32 degrees F with a brisk 25-degree wind chill.