Milky Way and Glow of Mashhad

From the photographer: “Taken in extremely smooth air over Turkmenistan (looking south from 39,000 feet), this 13 second exposure shows the core of our home galaxy rising over the nightly glow of Mashhad, 150 miles away.”

Technical details: single-exposure, 13 s at f/1.8, ISO 6400, Nikon Z6 with Nikkor 20 mm f/1.8