The waxing gibbous Moon rises over the Chiricahua Mountains of southeast Arizona.
This was the stunning scene on Sunday night, December 15, as I drove out to Chiricahua National Monument south of Willcox, Arizona for some moonlight photography. I stopped on Highway 186 to catch the colourful twilight in the east with the Moon rising over the desert mountains.
This image, taken a few minutes later, shows a darker sky but with more prominent crepuscular rays – shadows cast by distant clouds to the west where the Sun set. A photogenically placed windmill adds to the scene.
I love the contrast of Earth tones and twilight tints – a very desert-like palette.
– Alan, December 15, 2013 / © 2013 Alan Dyer
The Amazing Sky 
The photo with the windmill is particularly nice, Alan.
Earth’s shadow over the mountains adds to the astronomical impact of the image.