NGC 7023 from central Nevada

[starfield]

Got out for 4 days of camping in central Nevada. I originally had hoped to take advantage of 3 nights of dark skies, but the smoke, thunderstorms, and technical gremlins limited my time to just a couple of hours on Saturday night. Still a fun trip. Highlights:

Fun area - lots of ghost towns to explore during the day.
Dark skies - got to see Andromeda thru my new 10X50 binoculars from a dark site. Amazing sight.
Refining my remote setup. Every time I go on location I get better about managing my setup and troubleshooting remote. It's definitely harder.
Imaged the Iris Nebula. I had wanted to get more time on this, but it still the best image I've captured of this to date. Love dark skies.

I'm attaching the Iris shot - 30 frames at 240 seconds. Also included a few shots from my stay. The snoozy snake was a surprise... sitting right across from the restroom in the AM!

--Steve

[Juno16]

Sounds like a wonderful time Steve!

Amazing Iris image. Congratulations!

[TheButcher]

Very Nice Steve!

[BABOafrica]

Snakes! Not my favorite creature in the animal world.

But that is a beautiful capture of the Iris Nebula.

BABO

[MariusD69]

Wonderful! Well done!

[Jockinireland]

The Iris has come out really well.

The building and the prarie in the background is very evocative.

The snake - less to my own personal taste!

[starfield]

Couldn't resist posting the rattlesnake pic. I do wonder if they are out at night in the warm summer months when I'm out observing in the desert! Wouldn't want to surprise one.

[AstroBee]

Great Iris shot Steve! I'm glad you enjoyed my secret spot....
As to your question about the snakes. At lower altitudes where the nights are warmer, the snakes are out at night. But at 7600' I think the evenings are too cold for them. They are most active between 68-85°, though not technically nocturnal, at lower desert regions they will hunt at night when daytime temps are hot.