Star Trails Streak Over Historic Hungary (Photo)

Night sky photographer shoots stunning image of Spica, Saturn, Mars and the Moon over the historic city of Pécs, Hungary.

Bright star Spica, planets Saturn and Mars and the glowing moon appear as long-exposure star trails over Pécs, Hungary. This image was taken by veteran astrophotographer Tamas Ladanyi of the World at Night on July 23, 2012. (Image credit: Tamas Ladanyi / www.astrophoto.hu/ The World at Night)

The glowing moon, bright star Spica along with planets Saturn and Mars appear to shoot across the night sky above the historic city of Pécs, Hungary in this beautiful long-exposure, star trail photo.

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In this image, Spica, the brightest star in the constellation Virgo, can be seen on the left. The planets Saturn and Mars brightly shine next to Spica. The golden moon is further down to the right. Star trails naturally occur with the rotation of the Earth giving the impression the celestial objects are moving in the night sky.

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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.