Time lapse of the night sky?

messymess · 16-01-2011 2:51pm #1

I'm curious ... how do people video time lapses of the night sky? Like this one:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Z3cVQcfb-w

Surely there's more to it than point+record? I did a quick google for information but could't find anything.

Even in the best of darkness with little light pollution something like this would be extremely poor on consumer level stuff?

Edit: Just realised the first frame in that youtube vid explains it. Me <-- eejit !

Zillah · 16-01-2011 4:25pm

I don't think I've ever seen something that made me feel like I was on a ball spinning in space as much as this video. That was extraordinary.

I am a little suspicious though. I cannot fathom how those last few frames would have been possible, still being able to see detail of the milkyway as the sun was coming up over the horizon.

It's also interesting from a technical perspective, you can see the lens distortion from such a wide angle as the stars move across the sky.

EDIT: Actually I don't think we ever see the sun itself, that's probably just the pre-dawn glare that looks so bright on the long exposures.

Ciaran500 · 16-01-2011 4:30pm

messymess wrote: »

Even in the best of darkness with little light pollution something like this would be extremely poor on consumer level stuff

You need to go to a real dark site to see anything like that video. Some day I'll get to make a trip to one

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bortle_Dark-Sky_Scale

mehfesto · 17-01-2011 12:29am

Would stuff like that be possible in Ireland? I mean, say remote Mayo, pointed West-ish - could you get that with pro-gear? Or do you really have to head to the arsehole of Texas?

Time lapse of the night sky?

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