Full Moon Shines Over Lighthouse in Stunning View (Photo)

Moon and Belt of Venus Diesel
Greg Diesel took this image of the moon over the Bodie Island Lighthouse in the Outer Banks of North Carolina. (Image credit: Greg Diesel)

A rare moment catches a photographer's eye in this stunning night sky photo.

Veteran night sky photographer Greg Diesel Walck took this image of the moon over the Bodie Island Lighthouse in the Outer Banks of North Carolina during the Easter full moon in April.

"The moon only aligns in that general area two times a year," Walck wrote in an email to Space.com. "I wanted to capture it with the lunar eclipse but the weather did not allow that to happen.  Here it is Easter morning during sunrise and you can see the purple in the west of the 'belt of Venus' in the sky." [Astronomy Guide: Tools and Gear for Stargazing]

The Belt of Venus is the pinkish streak caused by the atmosphere reflecting light from the setting or rising sun — giving the reddish hue seen in the image.

To see more amazing night sky photos submitted by SPACE.com readers, visit our astrophotography archive.

Editor's note: If you have an amazing night sky photo you'd like to share for a possible story or image gallery, please contact managing editor Tariq Malik at spacephotos@space.com.

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Contributing Writer and Producer

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.