The Milky Bells

The Maroon Bells - I remember this night being super wet and cold. I arrived in the dark and was greeted by some friendly foxes. The farther I hiked on the trail the more wet my pants got from condensation on native flora. I nearly lost the trail a few times cause it was so dark and my headlamp batteries were running low. Low hanging clouds looming overhead were blocking the stars for most of the night until to my astonishment they opened up just long enough to reveal the vast beauty of our Milky Way Galaxy. A hazy band of light in the night sky formed from stars that cannot be individually distinguished by the naked eye.The big purpley pinkish spot just above the cloud in the lower middle left area is The Lagoon Nebula. The Lagoon Nebula (Messier8) is a bright emission nebula in the constellation Sagittarius. It is an active stellar nursery, an area of dust and gas in space where stars are formed. The 30 second exposure led to light star trails caused by the rotation of our planet, Earth.