Early on the evening of March 14, 2012, I shot this 10-segment all-sky panorama. showing a variety of celestial objects and phenomena.  In addition to clouds being lit by the waning light of sunset (as well as light pollution domes along the horizon, the "winter" Milky Way can be seen arching across the sky from south to north.

In the west, the bright planets Venus and Jupiter appear at their closest to each other in the sky, and above them appears the tiny star cluster known as the Pleiades or the Seven Sisters.  From the horizon up through these planets and on toward the Pleiades appears the ghostly glow of the zodiacal light, backlit dust scattered along the geometric planet of our solar system.

The planet Mars shines brightly on the opposite side of the sky, just along the base of Leo, the lion.

●   Date / Time:  March 14, 2012 / 8:15 p.m. PDT
●   Photo Details:  Nikon D700, AF-S Nikkor 14-24 f/2.8G ED lens at 15mm, ISO 1600, 20 sec. at f/2.8
●   Processing Details:  Lightroom 3.6, , Nik Dfine 2.0, PTGui Pro 9.1.3, Photoshop CS2
●   Location:  Chena Hot Springs Resort, Fairbanks, Alaska, USA