Stars above the Stone Buddha

The winter stars of constellations Orion and Canis Major trail above a stone Buddha statue on Mount Hwawangsan in South Korea. As noted by the photographer “This stone Buddha is made during the Goryeo dynasty, an ancient Korean state (918-1392). Just over the southern mountain range a streak of light is visible. This is the trail of the southern star Canopus, the second brightest in the night sky which is quite rare to see from this latitude at 35 degrees north. In the Orient culture of the region, anyone who can see this star will live longer.”