Comments on: Across The Night

Across The Night

Effigy2000 — Tue, 19 May 2009 13:32:58 -0800

A time lapse video of the night sky as it passes over the 2009 Texas Star Party in Fort Davis, Texas. The galactic core of the Milky Way is brightly displayed.

By: Burhanistan

Burhanistan — Tue, 19 May 2009 13:36:58 -0800

That's the good stuff there.

By: ChickenringNYC

ChickenringNYC — Tue, 19 May 2009 13:37:50 -0800

That's gorgeous.

By: whimsicalnymph

whimsicalnymph — Tue, 19 May 2009 13:40:00 -0800

Wow. Just wow.

By: futureisunwritten

futureisunwritten — Tue, 19 May 2009 13:40:22 -0800

Every day something amazes me.

By: The Whelk

The Whelk — Tue, 19 May 2009 13:41:05 -0800

Great, taunt me with alluring video of a place I'll never get to go, you big meanie.

By: hal9k

hal9k — Tue, 19 May 2009 13:46:04 -0800

Great, taunt me with alluring video of a place I'll never get to go, you big meanie. Texas isn't as great as some say it is.

By: gofargogo

gofargogo — Tue, 19 May 2009 13:46:24 -0800

Love this! I was watching and thinking "wait is bit the milky way? is that? what about that kinda brighter blur...oh my god" And then the intensity of the rising sun...wow. I'll probably go watch that a few more times. Thanks!

By: mazola

mazola — Tue, 19 May 2009 13:46:39 -0800

I can't favorite that enough.

By: GeekAnimator

GeekAnimator — Tue, 19 May 2009 13:46:46 -0800

This is why I come to Metafilter.

By: mudpuppie

mudpuppie — Tue, 19 May 2009 13:46:59 -0800

Texas isn't as great as some say it is. Oh, just shut up. And curse you, for making me type that, instead of my original comment: I just saw the Marfa lights!

By: Joe Beese

Joe Beese — Tue, 19 May 2009 13:47:01 -0800

I would have favorited this sooner, but I had to watch it a second time. Gave me wicked acrophobia though.

By: doctor_negative

doctor_negative — Tue, 19 May 2009 13:49:03 -0800

That's very cool. The Blue Danube started playing in my head as I watched it.

By: The Card Cheat

The Card Cheat — Tue, 19 May 2009 13:49:14 -0800

My God...it's full of stars!

By: slogger

slogger — Tue, 19 May 2009 13:52:56 -0800

Fantastic. But as a non-astronomer type, I'm curious: Is the Milky Way commonly viewable as such? Is this something the average person could capture with a tripod and long-exposure photo?

By: waxboy

waxboy — Tue, 19 May 2009 13:57:19 -0800

Yes, slogger, you just have to be far away from cities and their light pollution. This is why I go camping :)

By: dirtdirt

dirtdirt — Tue, 19 May 2009 13:57:25 -0800

Bad ass. I really dig, too, how on Vimeo you can see the view count of the video day by day. It goes a little something like: May 15th: 44 May 16th: 24 May 17th: 45 May 18th: 72,700 May 19th: 91,800 I guess word got out.

By: CynicalKnight

CynicalKnight — Tue, 19 May 2009 13:58:09 -0800

The galactic core of the Milky Way is ~~brightly displayed~~ surprisingly flexible.

By: WPW

WPW — Tue, 19 May 2009 13:58:58 -0800

It's always amazing to be reminded that we live in space. Thanks for that Effigy2000!

By: natabat

natabat — Tue, 19 May 2009 14:00:34 -0800

Thanks, that just made my day. Boom-de-ya-da!

By: filthy light thief

filthy light thief — Tue, 19 May 2009 14:01:24 -0800

Yes, you can see the Milky Way! However, it's not bright, and it's not always well placed to be seen. More astounding Milky Way imagery: Astronomy picture of the day, 2007 October 20.

By: The Esteemed Doctor Bunsen Honeydew

The Esteemed Doctor Bunsen Honeydew — Tue, 19 May 2009 14:04:33 -0800

wow.

By: battleshipkropotkin

battleshipkropotkin — Tue, 19 May 2009 14:05:58 -0800

Hey! I'll be at the McDonald Observatory this weekend! Awesome video. Now I'm really looking forward to it.

By: jbickers

jbickers — Tue, 19 May 2009 14:06:07 -0800

God, that's lovely. Reminds me of one of my favorite David Mead lyrics: there's a scar in the blue sky by the old airport.

By: jessamyn

jessamyn — Tue, 19 May 2009 14:07:41 -0800

That's terrific. I like how it gets all white at the end like in the end of that Ultravox video.

By: slogger

slogger — Tue, 19 May 2009 14:07:45 -0800

The galactic core of the Milky Way is ~~brightly displayed surprisingly flexible~~ filled with delicious nougat.

By: ciderwoman

ciderwoman — Tue, 19 May 2009 14:09:15 -0800

Awesome. And thanks for the laugh, the card cheat.

By: Atom Eyes

Atom Eyes — Tue, 19 May 2009 14:25:10 -0800

And to think: all this starry splendor, which once was the birthright of every living sighted creature, was voluntarily cast aside—forever replaced by a featureless, dull gray-orange canopy of stale smog and reflected sodium glare.

By: Midnight Skulker

Midnight Skulker — Tue, 19 May 2009 14:31:59 -0800

The stars at night, Are big and bright, Deep in the heart of Texas.

By: Blazecock Pileon

Blazecock Pileon — Tue, 19 May 2009 14:36:06 -0800

Thanks for posting this.

By: Burhanistan

Burhanistan — Tue, 19 May 2009 14:38:11 -0800

Deep in the heart of Texas. I think you meant this link.

By: loquacious

loquacious — Tue, 19 May 2009 14:44:11 -0800

And this is why cities should have "blackout nights" where we turn off or turn down all the lights and we have star watching parties. Because you can actually see this with your own eyes from the comfort of your own yard or park once a month, or once a year at least. I'd imagine there would be profound community benefits in reminding us how tiny we all are even together, and a perspective on all of our problems and tribulations.

By: joaquim

joaquim — Tue, 19 May 2009 14:52:08 -0800

slogger: check out the comments below the video. The photographer describes a special filter he used plus his adjustment of contrast and brightness to make the core stand out. That stuff is relatively minor, though -- the pictures are still within the reach of us knuckle-walkers (providing we're knuckle-walking someplace remote).

By: robinhoudt

robinhoudt — Tue, 19 May 2009 14:52:32 -0800

Fantastic. But as a non-astronomer type, I'm curious: Is the Milky Way commonly viewable as such? Is this something the average person could capture with a tripod and long-exposure photo? I was wondering the same thing. The photographer explains his setup in the comments:

The time-lapse sequence was taken with the simplest equipment that I brought to the star party. I put the Canon EOS-5D (AA screen modified to record hydrogen alpha at 656 nm) with an EF 15mm f/2.8 lens on a weighted tripod. Exposures were 20 seconds at f/2.8 ISO 1600 followed by 40 second interval. Exposures were controlled by an interval timer shutter release (Canon TC80N3). Power was provided by a Hutech EOS203 12v power adapter run off a 12v deep cycle battery. Large jpg files shot in custom white balance were batch processed in Photoshop (levels, curves, contrast, Noise Ninja noise reduction, resize) and assembled in Quicktime Pro. Editing/assembly was with Sony Vegas Movie Studio 9

I'm not familiar with the jargon, but I think this means that you wouldn't see such vibrant colours with the naked eye, or even on regular long-exposure photo.

By: robinhoudt

robinhoudt — Tue, 19 May 2009 14:53:37 -0800

(should've previewed)

By: malthas

malthas — Tue, 19 May 2009 14:59:42 -0800

Wow, that was truly amazing. Thanks for posting this!

By: punkfloyd

punkfloyd — Tue, 19 May 2009 14:59:57 -0800

Jai guru deva om!

By: Widepath

Widepath — Tue, 19 May 2009 15:03:27 -0800

That gave me a severe case of OH MY GOD I'M ON A PLANET RIGHT NOW syndrome.

By: Burhanistan

Burhanistan — Tue, 19 May 2009 15:10:31 -0800

That's not a syndrome, that's a perceptual awakening. Don't let those bastard therapists tell you any different.

By: blue_beetle

blue_beetle — Tue, 19 May 2009 15:13:38 -0800

Moderately improved by adding Yakety-Sax playing in the background.

By: filthy light thief

filthy light thief — Tue, 19 May 2009 15:42:37 -0800

I'm not familiar with the jargon, but I think this means that you wouldn't see such vibrant colours with the naked eye, or even on regular long-exposure photo. I don't fully understand it all, but I'll throw out basic google-fu until someone smarter in this field comes along to clarify all this. Start with a Canon EOS 5D 12.8 megapixel DSLR, with spectrum enhancements to make full use of the bandwidth of the Canon CMOS sensor through the use of custom designed filters, improving steps that the original cameras had made towards astrophotography with hydrogen-alpha light. Set the camera at f/2.8 ISO 1600. Exposures controlled by Canon TC80N3. Use Hutech EOS203 12v power adapter run off a 12v deep cycle battery. Images taken with custom white balance, then batch processed in Photoshop (levels, curves, contrast, Noise Ninja noise reduction, resize), and assembled in Quicktime Pro. Editing/assembly was with Sony Vegas Movie Studio 9.

By: odinsdream

odinsdream — Tue, 19 May 2009 15:59:34 -0800

Heartily seconding Widepath.

By: Brandon Blatcher

Brandon Blatcher — Tue, 19 May 2009 16:13:19 -0800

Great, just great, Earth is lop-sided. WTF, GOD?!

By: Dadoes

Dadoes — Tue, 19 May 2009 16:18:40 -0800

posted by filthy light thief eponysterical

By: echo target

echo target — Tue, 19 May 2009 16:32:28 -0800

this is why cities should have "blackout nights" That would be great until OH MY GOD SOMEONE JUST DROVE THROUGH THE LIVING ROOM WINDOW. Cool video, though. I wish I lived closer to a dark zone.

By: nickyskye

nickyskye — Tue, 19 May 2009 16:39:30 -0800

*sigh It was already so beautiful with the night sky richly full of stars and then that amazing galactic core of the Milky Way made my eyes fill with tears and think of "they should've sent a poet". Uplifting and awesome post. Thanks Effigy200.

By: digsrus

digsrus — Tue, 19 May 2009 17:08:40 -0800

The 2009 Star Party is really quite boring, but when they speed it up with time lapsed photography it's fuckin' astronomical.

By: dirigibleman

dirigibleman — Tue, 19 May 2009 17:46:09 -0800

At first, I was like "OOOOHHHH!" and then I was like, "AUGH! Nuclear holocaust!" Then I realized it was just the Sun. That's how I wake up every morning.

By: rtha

rtha — Tue, 19 May 2009 17:55:10 -0800

Holy wow.

By: Senator

Senator — Tue, 19 May 2009 19:06:18 -0800

I got laid near Fort Davis once. Talk about seeing stars!!

By: Mister_A

Mister_A — Tue, 19 May 2009 19:12:44 -0800

That's it! I'm goin' camping. Fantastic, billlllions and billlllions of thank yous, effigy.

By: bwg

bwg — Tue, 19 May 2009 19:21:53 -0800

Space. The Final Frontier.

By: squarehead

squarehead — Tue, 19 May 2009 19:22:42 -0800

This is great. The only other thing I have to add, for those who didn't know and find it interesting (as I did), is that the connection between our galaxy being called the "milky way" and the similarity between "galactic" and "lactic" (as in "milky") is not a coincidence.

By: Patapsco Mike

Patapsco Mike — Tue, 19 May 2009 19:44:15 -0800

Not a Total Perspective Vortex, but the closest thing to it I've seen. I want to go there and see this in the worst way.

By: TedW

TedW — Tue, 19 May 2009 20:10:10 -0800

posted by filthy light thief eponysterical I think we can retire the term now. I notice that among other things he used a H-alpha filter, normally used for those wonderfully detailed pictures of the sun you sometimes see. They are not cheap; he obviously put a lot of thought and effort into this.

By: Mister_A

Mister_A — Tue, 19 May 2009 20:11:39 -0800

The sun is frickin' terrifying, man.

By: TedW

TedW — Tue, 19 May 2009 20:18:49 -0800

Also, a couple of years ago Canon actually made a camera aimed at the astrophotography market, the EOS 20Da. The main difference between it and the standard 20D was the removal of the IR filter that is standard in most digital cameras.

By: bystander

bystander — Tue, 19 May 2009 20:26:03 -0800

I want to go there and see this in the worst way. You're already there, that view is available anywhere on the planet if it is dark. The only thing to note is because each shot is 20s long, it appears brighter than it would to the naked eye, allowing the colours to standout and extra detail become apparent. It was beautiful, and now I want to do my own version.

By: sexyrobot

sexyrobot — Tue, 19 May 2009 22:25:31 -0800

Is the Milky Way commonly viewable as such? Is this something the average person could capture with a tripod and long-exposure photo? looks like that with the naked eye up near death valley...trick is, you have to let your eyes get adjusted to the dark...this takes at least 15 minutes and is ruined the instant you see a light. red light, though, doesn't wash out your 'night vision'...that's what all the red flashes are around the perimeter of this video...the flashlights of astronomers as they consult star charts or dig around for the bag of m&ms.

By: stavrosthewonderchicken

stavrosthewonderchicken — Tue, 19 May 2009 22:37:42 -0800

And this is why cities should have "blackout nights" where we turn off or turn down all the lights and we have star watching parties. Nah, this is why people shouldn't live in cities at all. I hope I end my life as I started it, in some place far away from civilization where the air is clear.

By: Goofyy

Goofyy — Wed, 20 May 2009 02:06:50 -0800

One of the best dark places I've ever been, was the middle of a frozen lake. Being suited up to take the cold adds much to the atmosphere of the situation, almost like walking on the moon or something.

By: molecicco

molecicco — Wed, 20 May 2009 02:44:23 -0800

I loved that.

By: Pollomacho

Pollomacho — Wed, 20 May 2009 04:23:23 -0800

Astronomers do it all night.

By: Brandon Blatcher

Brandon Blatcher — Wed, 20 May 2009 06:23:38 -0800

Yeah, but they need tools to help them do that.

By: armacy

armacy — Wed, 20 May 2009 06:38:39 -0800

I've been to a star party in Fort Davis -- it did look like that! It was amazing and so much fun, and then sad when we lost our night vision to car headlights. Beautiful part of the country. Go!

By: marginaliana

marginaliana — Wed, 20 May 2009 07:08:02 -0800

Awesome.

By: math

math — Wed, 20 May 2009 08:12:53 -0800

As mentioned above, the brilliance of the Milky Way in the time-lapse photos is due to the 20-second exposures that the photographer took each time he opened the shutter eye. This is why astrophotographs are so amazingly stunningly beautiful- you just open the lens and let the light soak in. When you're looking at the stars with just naked eyes (or even a telescope), you don't see the purples and reds and other colors that are in the photographs. You do indeed see the Milky Way, and it's about as big as in the video, but just in black and white. That's not to say that it's a disappointment, though. If you're under really dark skies (as in, hundreds of miles from the nearest city), and if you let your eyes adjust long enough, you'll lie there like a drunken fool looking up at the sky, saying, "Wow... look at all those stars. Dude." The Texas Star Party is held out in the mountains of West Texas, and if you've ever driven through that part of the world, you know how empty and desolate the land is. In fact, it's the northern reach of the Chihuahua Desert (which also contains Big Bend National Park).

By: quin

quin — Wed, 20 May 2009 08:21:58 -0800

jbickers : there's a scar in the blue sky by the old airport. I'm glad I'm not the only one who saw it and immediately thought it looked like a scar. A very pretty and well filmed scar at that. I liked that there were some shooting stars and a slight brightening in the center that becomes more and more visible between the 11 to 13 second mark, because it gave me some time to think "What's the big deal? It's a bit brighter that the space around it... that's not so impressive..." and then a couple of seconds later I'm going "Ah. Ok, yeah. That's pretty fucking cool."