Dawn Lights Over Frozen Land

From the photographer: “A local friend Cem Özkeser and I decided to drive 35 km to Uludag NP for clear and transparent skies at the mountain site over 2000 meters elevation. Cem is a member of the astronomy club at my university, ~20 years my junior.

After parking the car at the ski resort parking lot, we hiked about 2 km to get to the peaks ridge of Uludağ to get a clear and unobstructed view of the southern horizon. At the ridge, there was a strong northwestern wind. Thankfully, the ski lift station at Tutyeli Peak provided us a wind breaker. We took position in this calmer spot and waited for all the planets to clear the southeastern horizon. And this was the view, as the morning twilight was also beginning; three planets shining as a compact triangle over the snowy peaks of Uludağ, the bright crescent Moon lighting up the icy scenery and the summer Milky Way shining due south.”