New Timelapse Shows Urban Nightscapes Without Light Pollution

By Nancy Atkinson - November 26, 2014 at 9:54 AM UTC | Site News
nightscape.jpg

[embed]https://vimeo.com/112350212[/embed]

What if we could have the best of both worlds, where a vibrant city didn't interfere with the view of the night sky? That was the thought of astrophotographer Sergio Garcia Rill when he decided to create simulated versions called "Urban Nightscapes."

"I have been shooting astrophotography nightscapes for a few years now, but due to light pollution I need to travel hours away from the city to be able to see and photograph the night sky," Rill wrote

on his website

. "But I wanted to make a combination of what it might be to see the night sky from within the city and my Urban Nightscapes series was born."

His first video includes Texas cities of Houston, Dallas, Austin and San Antonio, and he makes it clear, the images and video he's produced are mockup views.

"The stars in the video have been added through digital manipulation and the sky doesn't look that way inside the city due to the light pollution," Rill clarified. "I did my best effort to try to simulate the sky as it would have looked without light pollution but I am aware that not all the segments have achieved that, and I'm aware that this kind of shots are (at least at the moment) impossible to do in camera.

Enjoy the video above, and we'll look forward to more in the future! Find out more about Rill's project

on his website.

Urban Nightscapes Texas from Sergio Garcia Rill on Vimeo.

Nancy Atkinson

Nancy Atkinson

Nancy Atkinson is a space journalist and author with a passion for telling the stories of people involved in space exploration and astronomy. She is currently retired from daily writing, but worked at Universe Today for 20 years as a writer and editor. She also contributed articles to The Planetary Society, Ad Astra (National Space Society), New Scientist and many other online outlets.

Her 2019 book, "Eight Years to the Moon: The History of the Apollo Missions,” shares the untold stories of engineers and scientists who worked behind the scenes to make the Apollo program so successful, despite the daunting odds against it. Her first book “Incredible Stories From Space: A Behind-the-Scenes Look at the Missions Changing Our View of the Cosmos” (2016) tells the stories of 37 scientists and engineers that work on several current NASA robotic missions to explore the solar system and beyond.

Nancy is also a NASA/JPL Solar System Ambassador, and through this program, she has the opportunity to share her passion of space and astronomy with children and adults through presentations and programs. Nancy's personal website is nancyatkinson.com