At the page at the Popular Science site where I first saw this video, the author says:
The video below was captured by Stephane Guisard and Jose Francisco Salgado at the European Southern Observatory’s Very Large Telescope (VLT) in Chile’s Atacama Desert. And it might make you cry.
What makes this time lapse particularly amazing — because we’ve all seen plenty of time lapse videos of the night sky — is the four telescopes in the foreground. Watching these instruments work against a black background would be endlessly fascinating on its own. Unfortunately you won’t be able to pay them too much attention. Because damn, what a sky.
Yes. Damn. What a sky.
marta says
This reminds me of a night a few weeks ago after my son’s skate practice. We stood in the roller rink parking lot watching the sky for at least ten minutes. The clouds were flying over the moon–if you know what I mean. And he would try to anticipate where we would see the full moon again in the breaks in the clouds. The illusion was the the moon was racing behind the clouds trying not to be seen.
It was fun.
DarcKnyt says
Beautiful! … and this is the second time I’ve said so. I have NO idea what happened to my other comment.
Enjoy your holiday weekend, JES! :)
Jayne says
Breathtaking. And yet, another reason (besides the skiing and food) to take that trip to Chile. Thanks for this. :)
Nance says
I called my backyard astronomer away from morning oatmeal production to watch this with me. We agreed it’s too early to cry, but it sure puts my summer cold right into perspective.
We used to slather on the mosquito repellent and lie in the backyard at night on quilts to watch meteor showers. Often, conditions weren’t right–partly cloudy, perhaps– or we weren’t in the exact right location for viewing. Often that didn’t matter. Then, my backyard neighbor across the pond put in big, aimed spotlights under her trees to add interest to the night landscape and help her feel safer, effectively drowning our sky.
I like it that they just named it the Very Large Telescope. Why gild that lily?
John says
All: So glad you liked this!
As you know, I don’t blog much about politics and other potential flashpoint topics. But nighttime light pollution just might turn out to be my pet cause if I ever decide to do so. It drives me crazy… Aside from the aesthetic issues, I can’t help wondering how badly it must screw with our circadian rhythms — and thus add to the pile of invisible forces slowly but inexorably driving Homo sapiens crazy.
You may or may not know of the availability of resources to help you locate “dark-sky” locations near you. Here’s a handful:
Here’s the trailer for a recent film, The City Dark, which documents the issue:
I love big cities at night. But boy, does it ever kill me to lose the stars…
John says
marta: Sounds like a moment when magic might happen!
(I wanted to link to your story about the girl who loved the sky, and vice-versa, but haven’t been able to find it. Is it still online???)
John says
Darc: Thank you — yes, had a nice weekend (but didn’t see much night sky :)). You too I hope?
(Oh — your earlier comment was deemed to be sp*m by the great god Akismet of Mt. WordPress. Can’t imagine what the problem was… maybe it was too short?!?)
John says
Jayne: Is a Chile trip on your bucket list? There are soooo many places I’d put on my own…
In a context like this one — astronomy — I think the one expense which I would absolutely have to incur before leaving would be a staggeringly good (and probably staggeringly expensive) camera. It’d be bitterly disappointing to get to a remote location, get myself all worked up about the view… and have only black (or overexposed) pix to show for it!
Jayne says
@John – Most definitely. Ski Portillo, marvel at Rapa Nui’s archeology, hike up and down the coastline (well, it’s unlikely I’d actually hike the whole coastline), sail around Chiloé Island. I’ve always wanted to go there for it’s endless natural wonders but, as with many items on the bucket list, I haven’t gotten round to it. Yet.
After Chile, I’d hit Thailand and Viet Nam. Oh, the food! (Never mind the natural beauty of the landscape.)
John says
Jayne: I’d happily watch people ski Portillo, and I always like looking at photos taken by people on hiking and sailing excursions. I suspect I’m more an Americanized-version-of-Vietnamese-and-Thai-cuisines sort of guy than an actual dive-right-inner.
Marveling at archeology and landscape, though? Oh yes, I’m there! :)
Interesting, isn’t it — this tendency to zero in on someplace in the world where we’ve never been, convinced that it suits us? I don’t think you’ve been dropping by here long enough to know of my Wales fascination… Last year, after living two houses away from a neighbor for almost 10 years, I learned that he was born and grew up in Wales. He tried to discourage my interest: “It just rains so much,” he said. “Oh,” I said. So!?!, I thought.
marta says
@John – This the one?
http://lakebelle.wordpress.com/2011/05/09/the-sky-fell-in-love/
marta says
But just so you know, as I edit and send things out, I’ll be deleting them from the blog. I know, I know, that may not work, but it won’t hurt. Although there may be no market for this sky story anyway.
John says
marta: Yes! But it seems to me (per my comment on that story) that a story came before that one, from the other side (a girl falls in love with the sky). I’m pretty sure it was just a few days before the 5/9/11 story, but I can’t find it now. But, hmm, there’s NO story online for May 4. That can’t be right, can it?!?
I think you’re probably smart to remove stories you want to ready for submission. (I should be that smart myself.)
marta says
@John – I noticed a post was missing on the blog, but I haven’t had time to figure that out. What you’re thinking of may not have been a story per se. That may have been me saying something about the story. Anyway, I’ll see what I can find–since I don’t have to write a short story today!
And, by the way, if I were to enter one of these stories in a contest on the Story-a-Day site (judge by a “real” published author) which story would you vote for?
marta says
Okay, there was this little snippet. http://lakebelle.wordpress.com/2011/04/23/the-sky-that-fell-in-love/
That’s all I can think of.
John says
marta: Well, who am I to say? I pretty much do remember that we’d at least discussed— Wait. Just thought of something…
John says
marta: …Oh, well: I thought this “girl who loved the sky” thing might have been in a comment here at RAMH. If so, it’s now lost in the cyber-ether.
(However, during my search I did get distracted by this book, not yet published…)
Let me think about the stories question. You mean you want the strongest one? or the easiest one to fix up and get out the door?
Marta says
Could I have one of each?
And I don’t know about the story, but if I think of it, I will let you know.
Marta says
Oh, and I have been distracted by that book too.
John says
marta: “…one of each?”
Ha. Never offer a choice of snacks (“This one, or that one?”) to someone who’s been starving for months. :)
marta says
:)
Froog says
Beijing, although it has some of the foulest air pollution in the world, has fairly subdued street lighting. So, on the rare – very rare – occasions when the sky isn’t full of sand and asbestos…. you can be treated to a pretty impressive urban starfield. Alas, it’s such a rarity that I fear we lose the habit of bothering to look upward at all. I’ve only seen about 5 or 6 in all the years I’ve lived here; I worry that there must have been quite a few I missed through inattentiveness.
John says
Froog: by “only seen about 5 or 6,” you mean that many meteorites or some such?
I can’t remember the statistic, but there’s some number bandied about by UFOlogists. It’s in defense of the proposition that relatively few true UFOs have actually been recorded. It goes something like, “Well, of course we haven’t spotted that many — don’t you know that on average, people spend only X per cent of their lives looking at the sky?” Whether or not there might be UFOs in the form of spacecraft from other worlds, and regardless of the value of X, I think it’s still an interesting thing to ponder.
Froog says
No, not meteorites. I just meant skies full of stars, rather than, you know, a countable number, like six or seven – which is what generally counts as “an exceptionally clear night” in Beijing.
John says
Froog: Aha. “…only seen about 5 or 6 [implied: urban starfields].” Should have read that more carefully; it’s unmistakable now that you’ve pointed it out. Thank you!