Timelapse: A Tribute to Sky Gazers

By Nancy Atkinson - April 4, 2012 at 5:58 PM UTC | Observing

If you've fallen for the enchantment of a night out watching the stars, you'll relate to and revere in this new timelapse video.

"This timelapse production is a tribute to all skygazers around the world who enjoy exploring the night sky with their telescopes," said Babak Tafreshi, an astronomer, journalist and director of

The World at Night (TWAN)

. "I'm happy to release this in April 2012 in celebration of the

Global Astronomy Month

, an international program of Astronomers Without Borders in partnership with world-wide astronomy centers and clubs."

Tafreshi is creating a series of timelapse videos from Paranal, and this is his latest. This video was actually filmed in various locations including Paranal, Iran, La Palma, Austria, Germany, and Nepal. Some of the sequences are made during star parties, and observing competitions such as Messier Marathon where a large group of amateur astronomers observe the night sky together. You can see more at Tafreshi's

Vimeo page.

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