Science Space Artist Stitches Stunning Panoramic Time Lapse of Star-Trails (Video) By Kimberley Mok Writer McGill University Cornell University Kimberley Mok is a former architect who covered architecture and the arts for Treehugger starting in 2007. our editorial process Twitter Twitter Kimberley Mok Updated January 02, 2020 Video screen capture. Vincent Brady via YouTube Share Twitter Pinterest Email Science Space Natural Science Technology Agriculture Energy Time-lapse films have become something of an art form lately, thanks to improved gadgetry and computer editing software that allows the viewer to see clearly a flow of changes through time. Nature is one fitting muse, from time-lapse videos of corals, supercell storms, glaciers, and more. But the night sky holds the most mystery, and that's perhaps why Michigan-based photographer Vincent Brady's panoramic, long-exposure time-lapse videos of "startrails" is so compelling; in only few minutes we are able to see the progressive march of the stars much like our ancestors did, albeit translated for our digital age. Take a look: Using a custom-made rig of four cameras, Brady captured these breath-taking scenes in a seamless fashion, editing afterward to create what he calls "Planetary Panoramas." It's the result of previous photographic experiments that Brady attempted in daytime panoramas and nighttime long-exposures, giving him the idea to combine the two techniques in 2012. Brady explains his creative process and techniques: Since the Earth is rotating at a steady 1,040 mph I created a custom rig of 4 cameras with fisheye lenses to capture the entire night-sky in motion. Thus the images show the stars rotating around the north star as well as the effect of the southern pole as well and a 360-degree panorama of the scene on Earth. Each camera is doing nonstop long exposures, typically about 1 minute consecutively for the life of the camera battery. Usually for about 3 hours. I then made a script to stitch all the thousands of these panoramas into this time-lapse. The footage was filmed in remote places in Utah, Wyoming, Montana, and Missouri, on cold and dark nights that provided the best visibility. I like to think of outdoor photographers as intrepid souls who can dare to venture where the rest of us can't; these moving panoramas would be therapeutic for city dwellers living under light pollution, or those of us who lack enough time in the great outdoors to do a little stargazing. Planetary Panoramas offers poetic insight into the spiraling dynamics of the universe, as we spin and drift away in a vast ocean of constant celestial movement. Check out more over at Vincent Brady's website and Facebook page.