Dark Sky Captures Among the Creepy Crawlies

I thought I would take advantage of a crisp early morning on Saturday, October 1, 2022 to capture some nice dark sky shots, including the dazzling Jupiter. The location was from White Road at North Marion Road, about 2.5 miles north of Marion, Iowa. The night was not still--the entire time I was there the sounds of creeping raccoons and opossums were evident, one of which descended face first down on a nearby telephone pole. The image above was captured at 3:30 am CDT, and looks southeast at the Orion Constellation (top center). The bright object at center lower is the brightest star in the sky--Sirius--at magnitude -1.47. Image is a 20 second exposure at f/2.8, ISO 400, 16mm focal length.

3:36 am. Looking west down White Road. At upper left is the -2.93 magnitude planet Jupiter. Splotchy areas are drifting clouds. Image is a 15 second exposure at f/2.8, ISO 400, 16mm focal length. Nikon D7200 DSLR camera.