Gems of the Winter Sky

From the photographer: “An atmosphere suspended between day and night, between reality and dream, envelops the sunset on this cold winter day on the slopes of Mount Etna. It is a magical moment, made even more contemplative by the last rays of the sun warming the horizon and the low clouds slowly approaching us. Above them, it is already night: only a longer exposure can capture the last golden hues of the west. In the advancing darkness, above the white clouds steeped in cold humidity, the stars of the winter sky shine: Betelgeuse, Aldebaran, the Pleiades, the Andromeda galaxy and the double cluster of Perseus. Embellishing this constellation of celestial gems are some of the protagonists of the Solar System: Jupiter, Uranus, Venus and the Moon. The atmosphere offers a rare spectacle for these last two stars: a rainbow corona around the Moon and a corona with delicate blue reflections around Venus. In the background, the silhouette of Teseo Screpolato watches silently over the lava flow of Mount Etna.”

Canon 6d, Canon 8-15mm, f/4 iso 1600, 30 sec