The Milky Way is plainly visible cutting across the center of the image. The van door opened momentarily. I couldn't get angry because I knew it was just the right amount of light. With most of my gear packed for the return flight, I tripoded this shot near the open observing area. The glowing sunflowers were reddened by dim lights along the walkway leading to the deck.
Red light is the preferred illumination at night because it affects night vision the least.
The zodiacal light is caused by dust from countless comets dispersing the sun's light. The most visible region for us lies in our orbital plane, which is also near the orbital planes of the other planets. Its conical signature in this late summer photo points to Venus and Jupiter. Orion is rising to the right, Gemini to the left, while V-shaped Taurus is just below Jupiter. It's also quite a sight in New Mexico at Star Hill Inn.