Photo by babaktafreshi / I started photographing the night sky in the early 1990s, in high school. Digital cameras became part of my gear in the early 2000s; by 2007, when I was still living in Iran, I had switched over. This simple 20-second exposure photograph was the main reason. On this freezing but crystal-clear January night, light from a first quarter moon illuminated this dreamlike landscape of the rugged, snow-covered peaks of the Alborz Mountains, a couple of hours from Tehran (the glow on the right). Can you spot Orion and Sirius in the sky? The yellow-tinged Betelgeuse, on the shoulder of Orion, is at the top right. Sirius, the brightest star in our sky, stands above the center. The eerie glow along the Haraz Valley, in the foreground, is the light from cars traveling on a highway. Over the years I have contributed many images to the highly popular NASA educational page, and this image was the first one. Explore the night sky with me babaktafreshi. #twanight #orion #n...