An entry into the Royal Observatory’s 2012 Astronomy Photographer of the Year competition (winners are announced 19 September). Image: This picture captures the full Moon setting behind the Alps and the Sacra di San Michele, a religious complex situated 1000 metres up on Mount Pirchiriano in northern Italy. Human, geological and astronomical timescales are juxtaposed in this atmospheric photograph. The building in the foreground may be old by our standards, but the mountains in which it stands formed millions of years ago. Behind them, the setting Moon has remained relatively unchanged for billions years.