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

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2. Chiefland Star Party Skyscape Time Lapse

by William Castleman

6 days ago

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

by William Castleman

6 months 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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3,342 Likes

razorblade79
19 seconds ago
Jason Middleton
9 hours ago
Ryan Gauper
12 hours ago
p2z
22 hours ago
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1 day ago
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2 days ago
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3 days ago
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4 days ago
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4 days ago
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4 days ago

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Andrea Allen 6 months ago

Amazing!
ße ωell ;-) 6 months ago

it is ;-)
Paul 6 months ago

This is the REAL observatory right here!
Solrun Hoaas 6 months ago

Beautiful! Did you ever read Kenji Miyazwa's 'Night on the Milky Way Railway'?
jimmyfuture 6 months ago

lovely, lovely book.
Joob Kool 6 months ago

You gotta love the universe
Nic 6 months ago

Yes, I think we have the best one!
Steven Moore 4 months ago

been to any others?
Brian 6 months ago

Beautiful!
Daniel'Andreas 6 months ago

i really would like to see this through my own eyes : }
Greencross 6 months ago

Awesome!
Adrian Culici 6 months ago

Hi, I really enjoyed that. What equipment and technique were used in the making (besides the 15mm lens)?
William Castleman 6 months 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 6 months ago

Thank you for that, I love knowing what equiptment and techniques are used to make great videos like this. Nice work :)
Owen Scharlotte 4 months 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 6 months ago

oh my god, awesome

here comes the science!
GXT 6 months ago

damn this is amazing!!
Maria Bowskill 6 months ago

Astounding video, that must have been awesome to see
Nathan Hamblin 6 months ago

Beautiful, really amazing.
xloathsomex 6 months ago

wow!
Michael Rissi 6 months ago

Fantastic!
Lighbulb Media 6 months ago

oh wow....oh wow!
Dig For Fire 6 months ago

I've never seen anything like that. Amazing!
HaJooo 6 months ago

Beautiful.
Simplifiedbmx.fr 6 months ago

nice
2ExploreVideos 6 months 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 6 months ago

That was just beautiful. You could just watch it over and over.
William Castleman 6 months ago

Thank you for the many positive and encouraging comments.
Mario Cavalli 6 months 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 6 months ago

Same question I had...
robert deck 6 months 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 6 months 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 6 months 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 6 months 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 6 months ago

wow, if you're serious, then this is amazing. I could've sworn this was fake
Chris Staring 6 months 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 6 months ago

Wow, what an amazing image!

RT
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Iso 6 months 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 6 months ago

Yeah, I'd like to know as well - perhaps it highlights some molecules
PJ 6 months ago

Ahhh, this is wonderful, brings a smile to your lips. Much better than much of the CGI crap you see on TV :)
Dan Trevenna 6 months ago

Absolutely stunning!
Luka Sucic 6 months ago

dear god o.O
Johannes Courtens 6 months ago

unbelievable!
Verónica Muñoz 6 months ago

Amazing. I got goosebumps when the galactic core started to show up. Really beautiful, thanks for sharing.
Pascal 6 months ago

wow, incroyable, vraiment beau, bravo`!
Sean Tevis 6 months ago

Thank you so much for posting this!
Helmut Kaczmarek 6 months ago

Wow!
gagfilms 6 months ago

Frakkin amazing!
Jd Fernández 6 months 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 6 months 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 6 months ago

Beautiful.
Ciro Urdaneta 6 months ago

simply amazing!
Jason Bosch 6 months ago

Thank you for that.
tim prebble 6 months ago

fantastic!
the galactic insignificance of our little planet never ceases to amaze me
Wynner3 6 months ago

Amazingly beautiful, I just wish I could see that where I am in California.
The Baron 6 months ago

stunning vid
STARQUAK3 6 months 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 6 months ago

Wow. Thank you!
Brian Nash 6 months ago

Absolutely incredible. Robert deck - thanks for the link. I'm gonna check that out. :)
mm walsh 6 months ago

Gratefully everything changes --
olliegrind 6 months ago

Thanks! Amazing
Twisted Sifter 6 months 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 6 months ago

fuggin awesome.
Pacal Votan 6 months ago

Truly moving. Thanks for sharing!
robert Yarnell 6 months ago

simply awe inspiring... I need a telescope.
David Morgan 6 months ago

That is some amazing footage. I never knew such magnificent views were possible from down on earth.
timmmip 6 months ago

what everyone else said. also, HOLY SHIT, NICE WORK!
Kevin Keegan 6 months ago

I can't come up with any words to describe that...that's a good thing.
swamy g 6 months ago

Unbelievable. I sit before the screen in awe.
Keith Loutit 6 months 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 6 months ago

Nice!
Luke Pygman 6 months ago

This is incredible!
Javier A. Bedrina 6 months ago

Astounding
Antonio Chagas 6 months ago

INCREDIBLE!
Well done.
Cormac O'Connor 6 months ago

like soup
makemassair 6 months ago

Nice!
Marcel Boast 6 months ago

It's these kind of things that makes the net all worth it, really fantastic!
Jack Myers 6 months ago

Really brilliant. The comments above by Mr. Castleman are an education in stellar photography too. Cue the Holst and play it again!
zsutti 6 months ago

Respect! This is awesome!
Axel Clissen 6 months ago

breathless. nice job!
mike ambs ☂ 6 months ago

Whoa... that was beautiful.
Jeff Gammons 6 months ago

Outstanding time lapse video!
Ryan Hadaller 6 months ago

I'm really more of a Snickers guy, myself.
Dire Lauthris 6 months ago

Amazing!
Jean-Côme Bouden 6 months ago

Wahou. Galilée would be proud of you ^^
Felix E. Guerrero 6 months ago

When we will have those filters already built in our retinas?
Casey McKinnon 6 months ago

Wow... well done!
menchi 6 months ago

I wish it always looked like that.
J Gray 6 months ago

Great Job!!!
Kristoffer Berdal 6 months ago

Wow, space is so beautiful, i can't wait for space travel to really get easy! :D
Jo Jitty 6 months ago

Wow what a stunning image! Beautiful!

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Will Mahoney 6 months ago

Holy Shit! That was awesome!
edwin rosell 6 months ago

Amazing! Thanks for sharing!
talkingtonobody 6 months ago

this makes me steadily more happy every time I see it.
Anders Dahl 6 months ago

Love this!
Amrith Ram 6 months ago

stunning! you caught some meteors too. is that venus rising at 00:35?
William Castleman 6 months 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 6 months 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 6 months ago

Yes, that is curvature of field effect of the fisheye.
wear 6 months ago

Beautiful footage.