Stars and Rocks

Photographed from the top of 3600-meter Mount Gargash, northern stars trail around the celestial pole as seen above Zagros Mountains of Iran during this one-hour exposure with a film camera. Located not far from the town of Kashan (the glow in the horizon), Mount Gargash has exceptional seeing and atmospheric transparency for astronomical observations as the site for Iran National Observatory project. © Oshin Zakarian