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Wallaces Hut, Alpine National Park, Australia

Orion The Hunter with his two faithful dogs by his side watches over Taurus The Bull.

Wallaces Hut was built in 1889 and is the oldest still standing mountain hut of the 106 huts in the Alpine National Park. Constructed from local timber as shelter for the cattlemen who used to drive their herds up the mountains to graze on the high country plains in summer, it is a great reminder of the early pioneers in Australia.

Jupiter shines bright on the left of frame just next to Aldebaran the red eye of The Bull. In the middle of frame is Orion which is probably the most recognisable constellation in the night sky with its distinctive 'belt' and 'sword' stars and the red super-giant Betelgeuse and blue super-giant Rigel. For anyone in the northern hemisphere Orion appears upside down in this image to what you are normally used to due to my location in Australia. The bright star on the right of frame is Sirius which is the brightest star in the night sky. A 60% moon off to the left of frame is lighting up the landscape. The front of the hut was light painted during the single 25 second exposure with a small led torch. I was so busy trying to get the lighting right that I didn't notice the satellite flare through the frame. A very nice surprise.