Star Trails Arc Over Ancient Landscape in Photo

Star trails glow over ancient petroglyphs in this skywatching photo. (Image credit: Amin Jamshidi)

Star trails shine over an ancient landscape in Iran in this stunning skywatcher photo.

Photographer Amin Jamshidi took this image in April 2012 of star trails over the Teimareh area in Golpaygan, Iran. More than 30,000 petroglyphs dating as far back as 20,000 years ago have been counted in the region.

Star trails are lines of light created by caught on camera during long exposures. The image can be made by mounting the camera on a tripod, pointing it at the sky on a starry night and holding the shutter open for about 10 minutes. The rotation of the Earth during this time will create the circular arcs in the night sky, which radiate from either Polaris (the so-called North Star) or the Southern Cross.

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Nina Sen is a freelance writer and producer who covered night sky photography and astronomy for Space.com. She began writing and producing content for Space.com in 2011 with a focus on story and image production, as well as amazing space photos captured by NASA telescopes and other missions. Her work also includes coverage of amazing images by astrophotographers that showcase the night sky's beauty.