Pleiades and Mars

From the photographer: “Mountains are the best places to visit in order to capture the night sky. You are high enough in order to avoid the particles of the lower stages of the atmosphere and normally higher than the cities nearby, which are the greatest enemy of an astronomer or astrophotographer because of the light they “release” in the night sky, which is called light pollution. It’s something you may hear for the first time or something you have heard before, but you didn’t realize the major impact it has on your life. It affects everyone and everything, from wild animals and insects to humans. (For better information visit here)

At a dark place like the peak Neraidorachi, at mount Helmos in Greece, with an altitude of 2340 meters, you’re expecting to face a clear view of the night sky, without a huge amount of light pollution. Unfortunately, these orange colours weren’t coming from the setting or the rising sun, but from artificial lights. In this particular image, you can see the Pleiades at the left and Mars at the right in combination with orange-yellow colours caused by the light pollution and green colours above, which is called airglow.”