Its in the stars (planets)

Tonight the moon, Jupiter, and Venus were all in very close proximity with each other. Because of the open space we have here, I've been able to watch Jupiter and Venus get closer and closer every evening, and now they have come to group very nicely with the Moon. For those of you in the states, you can see the same thing around sunset tonight-- just look west.

One more stop

I've got one last stop on my scenic tour of Iraq - I'm going to Irbil, which is in the Kurdish territory of the northern part of the country, for a few days. From what I hear the city is quiet and not opposed to U.S. presence there, so it sounds like my kind of town. Hopefully I'll get some good photos and have some good stories to tell, aside from being able to get my work done of course.

The photo above I took in Kirkuk while I was waiting for my room to get opened sometime in the middle of the night. The nighttime sky out here is pretty incredible, and I couldnt resist the chance to get out the fisheye lens and get a shot of the sky.