Moon over Byzantium

Explanation: Hiding near the Sun, a slender crescent Moon is a difficult but rewarding sight . Look to the right (scroll right) and you can spot one in this twilight panorama across the Bosporus Strait and along the skyline of the historic city of Istanbul . Recorded on March 8, the Moon is a mere 22 hours young . A thin, curved edge of the Moon's illuminated surface is just visible poised in the western sky at sunset above the walls of Topkapi Palace . The palace was built in the reign of Ottoman Sultan Mehmed II, the 15th century conquerer of the city that was then Constantinople, capital of the Byzantine Empire. The well-lit domed building immediately to the left of the palace is Ayasofya ( Hagia Sophia ), a famous example of Byzantine architecture, now a museum. Still farther to the left is the Sultan Ahmed Mosque