My friend Victoria tipped me off to this breathtaking time-lapse sequence of the Milky Way rising over a stargazing party in Texas. If you have trouble viewing it in this window, go to http://vimeo.com/4505537. Be sure to click the little icon in the lower right to set the viewer to full-screen. It’ll be the best 48 seconds of your day.
Galactic Center of Milky Way Rises over Texas Star Party from William Castleman on Vimeo.
“When I consider your heavens, the work of your fingers,
the moon and stars which you have set in place,
what is man that you are mindful of him,
the daughter of man that you care for her?”
— Psalm 8, paraphrased from the NIV
the moon and stars which you have set in place,
what is man that you are mindful of him,
the daughter of man that you care for her?”
— Psalm 8, paraphrased from the NIV
Ryan
That video has got to be one of the most beautiful things I have seen in a very long time. I must admit, when you said “It’ll be the best 48 seconds of your day,” I was a wee bit skeptical. I suppose that was just my skewed perception of the Milky Way’s appearance, gained from living in an urban area in Michigan. I don’t tend to see that many stars in the sky, where I live, unfortunately.
Absolutely wonderful clip, though. It makes me want to hit my free Kindle copy of Eternity’s End (which I thank you for making available, by the way) with even more fervor, so that I might jump right into the depths of space and be with the stars.
Jeffrey A. Carver
I hope you do hit your Kindle edition of Eternity’s End, and enjoy it. 🙂
I just watched the video clip again myself, and was really struck by how clearly you can see–not just the Milky Way stretched across the sky–but an impression of the incredible disk shape of the galaxy. It really does make you want to head off in your starship and visit all those sights firsthand.
MGM Sr.
Incredible! Made my day (perhaps even month!) Any chance of getting a link to download the quicktime, would love to set this as my desktop video.
Jeffrey A. Carver
Thanks for the reminder. I'd forgotten all about this. 🙂
I don't know what you would have to do to download it. But I seem to recall seeing somewhere that Vimeo does allow downloads. If you find out, can you let us know?
Anonymous
Try playing the opening to 2001: A Space Odyssey over it, it's quite the experience.