Sky Above the Khalifa Tower

A night over the city of Dubai in the United Arab Emirates is not so starry. In fact, the Moon is the only celestial beacon to come close to competing with city lights in this fish-eye night skyscape, a situation all too familiar to urban skygazers. The futuristic looking scene is dominated by the 800 meter tall Khalifa Tower, presently the tallest free standing structure on planet Earth. But for now you should also be able to make out a few of the very brightest stars in Earth’s night sky. Capella is left of the tower and Aldebaran is close to the Moon and stars of constellation Orion are visible near the patchy clouds and Sirius, the brightest star in the night sky, visible between the clouds.