See stunning starry nights at int’l astrophotography event

The starry night show was co-sponsored by the Shanghai Astronomical Observatory of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai Astronomical Society, The World At Night (TWAN), and the Astronomers Without Borders (AWB) organization.

This is the first photography exhibition of TWAN in China. There are 40 photos of amazing moments on display, ranging from when the Hale-Bopp Comet flashed over the pyramids of Egypt, the aurora light shining around seen on the Iceland, the Milky Way spanning in the sky observed in the Yellow Stone National Park to when the Magellanic Galaxy was photographed over the ancient statues on Easter Island.

The World At Night (TWAN) is a program with the aim of exhibiting impressive landscape astrophotographs and time-lapse videos of the world’s most spectacular and historic sites with delightful contrast to scenes of stars, planets, and celestial events. [Photo from Wechat: sheshanlvyoutopnews]

TWAN, as a volunteer-driven program operating under Astronomers Without Borders (AWB), boasts itself as a bridge to link art, humanity, and science. The primary goal it fulfills is to present a new way for the public to enjoy the planetary wonders by portraying Earth’s people as one family and our world as a living planet we must care for.

It is a Special Project of the International Year of Astronomy 2009 designated by the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) and the International Astronomical Union (IAU).

Numerous and increasingly more TWAN-style Earth and sky photographs are being taken by some of the best landscape astrophotographers all over the globe.