Moon Meets Venus

The Moon and Venus are paired in a close conjunction as seen in the morning twilight above the top of Alamut mountain fortress in the Alborz Mountains of Iran. Click on the second photo to see an earlier wide angle view of the pair and the Milky Way above the castle. Alamut Castle (2160 m) 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).