I visited Colbert Park around 9 PM on Oct 7th, 2025. I wanted to get some night shots.
I rented a Nikon D5200 from the UIUC Library to shoot star trails before my trip to ABQ. I'm hoping that after my trip to ABQ, I can return to a less bright moon for pictures of the Milky Way.
On top of the large hill at Colbert Park - iPhone night mode
This hill, by far, takes the prize for best sledding hill in Champaign-Urbana.
It was quite chilly (for the first time this Fall, so far), but being under the stars was worth it. After a some rain today, the sky was extremely clear, though very bright. I am always very impressed with the detail iPhone night shooting can extract.
I fiddled with the D5200 and ran into some troubles, but did manage to capture some pictures of the full moon.
Colbert Park was a nice visit, even in the night. A nice road led to a playground, huge open field, and huge hill. Alongside the hill was a lake that looked very nice in the night.
Colbert Park seems like a good fit for astrophotography, even though there are quite a few lights around. I'll definitely be back for shooting more star trails/Milky Way.
Lunar image captured by Seestar S50, 10 minute stack, with light edits in Lightroom
P.S.: prior to Colbert Park, I thought of taking pictures at the Meadowbrook Prairie overlook (the wooden structure)... I was met by some friends right at the beginning of the walkway...
After seeing them, I left to Colbert.
I returned to Colbert Park a few more times. I captured a shot of a very, very, very faint exposure of the Milky Way.
And a preliminary trial shot to learn taking star trails...
I captured some plane. Very educational sessions. These were with very bright moons; after my return from ABQ, I will try the Milky Way again.