Photos of a sunset on a perfectly still evening, taken recently at Budgewoi, on the NSW Central Coast.

It has been 20 years since the Hubble Space Telescope was launched, and during the time the probe has been in Earth orbit, it has taken some amazing photos.

As this National Geographic collection goes to show though, some of its more stunning images are not always from distant corners of the cosmos but rather very close to home, such as the photo of the Space Shuttle bathed in the red hue of a sunset above the Earth.

Dark clouds sweep across the skyline at sunset.

The collision of sunset and an approaching storm front made for an amazing sight in parts of Sydney yesterday evening.

Shadows grow long, nightfall approaching, time to leave the canals and head to the club district me thinks.

Actually this photo was taken a couple of years ago but I don’t think I’ve ever posted it.

Last post of 2008. Enjoy your NYE revels, and I shall look forward to seeing you, all bright eyed and bushy tailed no doubt, at some point on the flip side. :)

The Federation Pavilion at sunset.

Yesterday, 21 December, marked the summer solstice in the southern hemisphere.

Ok, so shorter days and Winter are on the way. Will worry that another time I think.

This photo was actually taken a few days ago. With my phone camera by the way. Close enough to the solstice though, since I wasn’t at an outdoor location last night to take an actual solstice sunset snap.

Update: I have added a larger version of this photo to my Flickr collection.

Can’t see the forest for the sunset, Centennial Park, Sydney.

Hump Day 2008, was last Saturday. If this were the northern hemisphere, 21 June would be the official beginning of winter, rather than 1 June, which is the “Antipodean” start to the season.

Whenever the beginning of winter may or may not be though, at least the days will now gradually become longer.

Summer is on the way :)

And on the flip side of the coin, so to speak, here’s a great photo of the Moon rising in Athens, Greece, on the event of the summer solstice in the northern hemisphere.