The Joys of the Unexpected

So a friend and I drove all the way out to Orient Point to do some observing.  Usually I just drive to Custer Institute, where I am a member, but on the last three visits, you could barely see the Milky Way because of light pollution.  So we drove for an extra half hour to a boat launch ramp in the middle of nowhere, and the skies were absolutely stunning!  The stars blazed with a brilliance you can only get from a site that is not light polluted.  While taking a break from using my telescope, and my camera to photograph some heavenly objects, I walked down to the end of the boat ramp and saw this!  I was stunned at how beautiful it was!  So I went back and got my camera and tripod.  There was absolutely no wind at all, and no waves, which is why I could make a fifteen second exposure of a boat on the water and have it not move at all!  The boat was illuminated by a security light from a marina a short distance away.  The brightest object near the top right of the photo is the planet Jupiter.  What an astounding thing to go looking for one thing and find something else!