Lights from the Earth and Space

As the morning twilight approaches the elongated zodiacal light (sunlight reflection from the dust particles in the solar system plane) appears extensively above Alamut fortress in Iran. The yellow light dome on the right is from cities of Tehran and Karaj about 100 km away. The bright star in the middle is Sirius, the brightest star in the night sky. To its upper right is prominent constellation Orion. The historic Alamut Fortress (2160 m) is found in Alborz Mountains of Iran. It was was built into the rock in the 9th century. The name means Eagle’s Nest. Home of the legendary Assassins featured in the adventure movie Prince of Persia, Alamut was also historically a center for libraries and education. For a time, it was the residence of important 13th century Persian scholar and astronomer Nasir al-Din al-Tusi (or simply known as Tusi).