Amazing photography science
#astronomy #space #stars
March 17, 2021
Grace Ebert
The Tulip Nebula. All images © JP Metsavainio, shared with permission
Twelve years and 1,250 hours of exposure later, Finnish photographer JP Metsavainio sewed a massive 1.7 gigapixel composite detailing every fiery eruption and starry sky that the Milky Way mapped out. The stellar mosaic documents the 125-degree trajectory between Taurus and Cygnus and consists of 234 individual images spanning 10,000 pixels. Nearly 20 million stars are visible in the expanse.
The ongoing project started in 2009 and Metsavainio knew it would take at least a decade to realize. “As a visual artist, the composition of the image means a lot. Over the years I have shot hundreds of individual targets from the Milky Way. Every photo taken is an independent work of art. At the same time, I have always kept in mind the needs of the final large composition, ”said the photographer, noting that he first captured the more pronounced elements, such as supernovae, before filling in the gaps.
After shooting with relatively short focal length instruments for the past few years, Metsavainio plans to use this incredibly high-resolution panorama as a map, while switching to longer focal length tools in the coming months. Find details about Metsavainio’s entire process, along with details about the equipment used, on his site, where you can also find a larger portfolio of his galactic projects. (via PetaPixel)
The entire composite image maps colors of the light emitted from ionized elements. Hydrogen = green, sulfur = red and oxygen = blue. (click to enlarge)
The 125 degree trajectory from Taurus to Cygnus
Detail of Wolf Rayet Shell around the star WR 134
California Nebula NGC 1499
Sharpless 124 and the Cocoon Nebula
#astronomy #space #stars
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