Galactic Center of Milky Way Rises over Texas Star Party on Vimeo

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1. Galactic Center of Milky Way Rises over Texas Star Party

by William Castleman

3 years ago

Time lapse video of night sky as it passes over the 2009 Texas Star Party in Fort Davis, Texas. The galactic core of Milky Way is brightly displayed. Images taken with 15mm fisheye lens.

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Andrea Allen 3 years ago

Amazing!
Paul 3 years ago

This is the REAL observatory right here!
Dan Frederiksen 11 months ago

sure, but I find the hundreds of millions of ufo sightings just a tad more amazing.
more stars than grains of sand on all the beaches of the world and it seems many of them have planets. combined with astronomical time scales, is it not a tad provincial to deny they are here already..
google and listen to Travis Walton's story. all of it.
the movie based on it called fire in the sky doesn't tell the real story
Kim Peyote 3 months ago

Brainwashed much?
Not everything you see on TV is real you know. In fact, a lot of it of it is shown to make you think it's real. No one has ever seen an alien.. (No, star trek doesn't count). Get your feet back on the ground before you one day realize at 80 that you wasted your life believing in this nonsense.
Solrun Hoaas 3 years ago

Beautiful! Did you ever read Kenji Miyazwa's 'Night on the Milky Way Railway'?
jimmyfuture 3 years ago

lovely, lovely book.
Brian 3 years ago

Beautiful!
Dʌniel S* 3 years ago

i really would like to see this through my own eyes : }
Adam 2 years ago

whos eyes do you view from?
Dorian Christensen 14 days ago

Ha ha.
Dʌniel S* 14 days ago

That's a german expression for "I would like to see this in real life". Doesnt' seem work in english though.
Greencross 3 years ago

Awesome!
Adrian Culici 3 years ago

Hi, I really enjoyed that. What equipment and technique were used in the making (besides the 15mm lens)?
William Castleman 3 years ago

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.
Chris Staring 3 years ago

Thank you for that, I love knowing what equiptment and techniques are used to make great videos like this. Nice work :)
TimeLapseBlog.com 3 years ago

I've tried this type of shoot a few times, so I know how long it must have taken to perfect your techniques.
Could you tell me how you shot in custom white balance? I'd normally use a gray card for WB, but I've never thought to use one while photographing stars. Thanks.
Teddy Pemberton 3 years ago

oh my god, awesome

here comes the science!
GXT 3 years ago

damn this is amazing!!
Maria Bowskill 3 years ago

Astounding video, that must have been awesome to see
Nathan Hamblin 3 years ago

Beautiful, really amazing.
Michael Rissi 3 years ago

Fantastic!
Lightbulb Media 3 years ago

oh wow....oh wow!
Dig For Fire 3 years ago

I've never seen anything like that. Amazing!
HaJooo 3 years ago

Beautiful.
Simplifiedbmx.fr 3 years ago

nice
2ExploreVideos 3 years ago

Great TL. You can see the effects of distortion from the fisheye lens as the Milky Way moves across the field of view.
Marcellus Suber 3 years ago

That was just beautiful. You could just watch it over and over.
William Castleman 3 years ago

Thank you for the many positive and encouraging comments.
Mario Cavalli 3 years ago

Extraordinary! Was the milky way visible to the naked eye? The Canon D5 is amazing in low light, though I don't understand this part of the technical explanation: 'AA screen modified to record hydrogen alpha at 656 nm'?
Jamison Boie 3 years ago

Same question I had...
robert deck 3 years ago

sciencecenter.net/hutech/canon/index.htm

There's a filter in front of the sensor, inside the camera.
That filter limits the wavelengths that reach the sensor.
Replace that filter, and you get an excellent, but specialized, astrophotography camera.
William Castleman 3 years ago

The stock anti-alias (AA) filter blocks a range of red wavelengths so the camera will render desireable skin tones. 656 nm is one of those wavelengths that also is emitted by emission nebula (star forming gas nebula). The replacement filter permits passage of 656 nm so that emission nebula can be recorded.
Mario Cavalli 3 years ago

Thank you, William, for the very detailed and clear technical explanation. I take it then that what the camera captured with the replacement filter installed was not exactly as was visible to the naked eye?
William Castleman 3 years ago

Contrast and brightness have been increased to make the Milky Way more stunning in the video. However, standing in the field at the Texas Star Party with dark-adapted eyes with the Milky Way overhead is a very stunning experience. Many first-time observers remark that the rising of the Milky Way looks like storm clouds coming in over the horizon. When the Milky Way is overhead it casts shadows. You can hold your hand up and move it around and see the shadow move around on the ground in front of you. It is a moving experience the first time you see the Milky Way that brightly in the sky. Fort Davis, Texas is at 5,000 feet altitude with very dark and transparent skies.
Jackson 3 years ago

wow, if you're serious, then this is amazing. I could've sworn this was fake
Chris Staring 3 years ago

Yes I used to live in central victoria Australia (the bush) lol. Since moving to the city you really appreciate the night sky a whole lot more when you get to see it like this.
Jo Jitty 3 years ago

Wow, what an amazing image!

RT
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Isolder 3 years ago

Could you expand on the "AA screen modified to record hydrogen alpha at 656 nm"? I found everything else you mentioned, but having trouble getting any info on the above.

Thanks
PJ 3 years ago

Yeah, I'd like to know as well - perhaps it highlights some molecules
PJ 3 years ago

Ahhh, this is wonderful, brings a smile to your lips. Much better than much of the CGI crap you see on TV :)
Daniel Trevenna 3 years ago

Absolutely stunning!
Luka Sucic 3 years ago

dear god o.O
Johannes Courtens 3 years ago

unbelievable!
Verónica Muñoz 3 years ago

Amazing. I got goosebumps when the galactic core started to show up. Really beautiful, thanks for sharing.
Pascal 3 years ago

wow, incroyable, vraiment beau, bravo`!
Sean Tevis 3 years ago

Thank you so much for posting this!
Helmut Kaczmarek 3 years ago

Wow!
gagfilms 3 years ago

Frakkin amazing!
Jd Fernández 3 years ago

The center of the galaxy has a black hole and it's obscured by dust and particles, how can this light be from that? Astronomers use infrared and long wavelength radiation to see what's in the center of the galaxy. Other than that, I'm reduced to think that this is either the Sun or just the stars by the galaxy core's outskirts; not the actual center.
William Castleman 3 years ago

The galactic center contains billions of light emitting stars and emission nebula in addition to a black hole and other astronomical entities that are obscured by dust clouds. Astronomers use infrared and long wavelenth detectors to "see" structures that aren't detectable through dust clouds despite the abundant visible light being emitted from the same general area from our vantage point in our solar system.
Charles Williams 3 years ago

Beautiful.
Ciro Urdaneta 3 years ago

simply amazing!
Jason Bosch 3 years ago

Thank you for that.
tim prebble 3 years ago

fantastic!
the galactic insignificance of our little planet never ceases to amaze me
Wynner3 3 years ago

Amazingly beautiful, I just wish I could see that where I am in California.
The Baron 3 years ago

stunning vid
STARQUAK3 3 years ago

I'm totally speechless... Makes me think that the universe is simply the most beautiful piece of art that one could ever see...
Fragenord Berscht 3 years ago

Wow. Thank you!
Brian Nash 3 years ago

Absolutely incredible. Robert deck - thanks for the link. I'm gonna check that out. :)
mm walsh 3 years ago

Gratefully everything changes --
olliegrind 3 years ago

Thanks! Amazing
TwistedSifter 3 years ago

Absolutely incredible! This video led me to learn more about the Texas Star Party. Now I know the darkest skies in North America can be found in the Davis Mountains. Awesome video.
simon yuen 3 years ago

fuggin awesome.
Pacal Votan 3 years ago

Truly moving. Thanks for sharing!
robert Yarnell 3 years ago

simply awe inspiring... I need a telescope.
David Morgan 3 years ago

That is some amazing footage. I never knew such magnificent views were possible from down on earth.
timmmip 3 years ago

what everyone else said. also, HOLY SHIT, NICE WORK!
Kevin Keegan 3 years ago

I can't come up with any words to describe that...that's a good thing.
swamy g 3 years ago

Unbelievable. I sit before the screen in awe.
Keith Loutit 3 years ago

Great! I love the watching the stars distort through the fisheye in this. It really creates a great 3D effect as the Milky way passes.
Marko Wramén 3 years ago

Nice!
Luke Pygman 3 years ago

This is incredible!
Javier A. Bedrina 3 years ago

Astounding
Antonio Chagas 3 years ago

INCREDIBLE!
Well done.
Cormac O'Connor 3 years ago

like soup
makemassair 3 years ago

Nice!
Marcel Boast 3 years ago

It's these kind of things that makes the net all worth it, really fantastic!
Jack Myers 3 years ago

Really brilliant. The comments above by Mr. Castleman are an education in stellar photography too. Cue the Holst and play it again!
zsutti 3 years ago

Respect! This is awesome!
Axel Clissen 3 years ago

breathless. nice job!
mike ambs 3 years ago

Whoa... that was beautiful.
Jeff Gammons 3 years ago

Outstanding time lapse video!
Ryan Hadaller 3 years ago

I'm really more of a Snickers guy, myself.
Dire Lauthris 3 years ago

Amazing!
Jean-Côme Bouden 3 years ago

Wahou. Galilée would be proud of you ^^
Felix E. Guerrero 3 years ago

When we will have those filters already built in our retinas?
Casey McKinnon 3 years ago

Wow... well done!
menchi 3 years ago

I wish it always looked like that.
J Gray 3 years ago

Great Job!!!
Kristoffer Berdal 3 years ago

Wow, space is so beautiful, i can't wait for space travel to really get easy! :D
Jo Jitty 3 years ago

Wow what a stunning image! Beautiful!

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Will Mahoney 3 years ago

Holy Shit! That was awesome!
edwin rosell 3 years ago

Amazing! Thanks for sharing!
theArnolds 3 years ago

this makes me steadily more happy every time I see it.
Anders Dahl 3 years ago

Love this!
Amrith Ram 3 years ago

stunning! you caught some meteors too. is that venus rising at 00:35?
William Castleman 3 years ago

Meteors are the Lyrids Meteor Shower which peaked the night of the time lapse. Jupiter is rising at 00:35. Venus rose with the Moon that morning.
mike crowley 3 years ago

the stars in the middle of the frame seem to move faster than the outer stars..is that due to the fish eye lens?
William Castleman 3 years ago

Yes, that is curvature of field effect of the fisheye.
wear 3 years ago

Beautiful footage.