Alborz Mountains in Moonlight
On January 25th, light from a first quarter Moon illuminated this
dreamlike
landscape looking across the rugged, snow-covered peaks of the
Alborz Mountain
Range in northern Iran.
The stunning sky is filled
with stars, including the yellow-tinged
Betelgeuse
at the shoulder
of Orion.
Sirius,
alpha star
of Canis Major
and the brightest star in planet
Earth's night,
stands above and
left of picture center.
The eerie glow along the Haraz valley in the foreground
is light from cars traveling a highway
leading from Tehran to
the
Caspian Sea.