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[Gary Whitta]

In one of the Hitch-Hiker's Guide to the Galaxy books the fugitive Zaphod Beeblebrox is captured and sentenced to the worst punishment in the universe - the Total Perspective Vortex. It's a little booth they shove you inside and shut the door and then they beam into your brain a to-scale map of the universe in its full unimaginable entirety, with an arrow pointing to an infinitesimally small marker, a microscopic dot on a microscopic dot, that says YOU ARE HERE. When faced with the full staggering extent of your utter insignificance you immediately go insane.

This is a bit like that.

http://www.sergebrunier.com/gallerie/pleinciel/index-eng.html

 

[reilo]

Holy fucking shit.

 

[GDGF]

That's pretty damn awesome.

I'd ask for a zoom button, but I guess it wouldn't help unless it moved faster than the speed of light.

 

[LCGeek]

I always love moments of large scales of infinity. Loops and layers a picture like this just make the rabbit hole of reality go deeper and deeper.

 

[vitaminwateryum]

The video at the bottom of that page is mind-blowingly awesome.

 

[Rewrite]

This is great. It reminded me of another link that was posted on here that contained like psychedelic looking stuff in a moving vortex and it would animate. I don't know if anyone knows what I'm talking about, but it was so fucking awesome.

 

[Gary Whitta]

That's pretty damn awesome.

I'd ask for a zoom button, but I guess it wouldn't help unless it moved faster than the speed of light.

There is one, use the plus and minus keys.

 

[platypotamus]

That's pretty damn awesome.

I'd ask for a zoom button, but I guess it wouldn't help unless it moved faster than the speed of light.

Try "+' over by the keypad, though you're right, it isn't super duper useful.

Awesome find though, Gary.

 

[GDGF]

There is one, use the plus and minus keys.

Oh :lol

Thanks.

Yeah, it only makes the picture bigger

 

[AltogetherAndrews]

That video is pretty sweet

 

[Rewrite]

The video at the bottom of that page is mind-blowingly awesome.

Just saw this. :O

 

[Skittleguy]

Hey, I can see Galactic Center from here!

 

[Orpheon]

Surreal. Absolutely surreal.

 

[gdt]

I've got a hardcover collection of the entire Hitchhiker series (in one hardcover bible thing). I gotta start reading it...

This stuff's cool BTW.

 

[Xabora]

Last video is amazing.

And
http://www.sergebrunier.com/gallerie/pleinciel/fredo-fun2.jpg :lol
Interesting book there titled 'Asthar' or 'Asthur'.

 

[LogicStep]

Wow, that video at the bottom is amazing. I've always wanted to go somewhere where I could really take in and appreciate a view of space like in the video. That was great, thanks.

 

[Extollere]

I posted this in the space thread but I suppose it bears repeating. This is linked to the Gigagalaxyzoom project, which you can see here:

http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showpost.php?p=17798352&postcount=2204

http://www.gigagalaxyzoom.org/B.html
Click on zoom-in (upper left corner of the image by discover) to enable a scroll that lets you zoom in to incredible detail. It's pretty staggering! On the top right of the page are the three images you can zoom into. Individual box areas can be clicked to learn more about each area.

You can also watch a video about the project here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yN7ken0bXYg&feature=sub

The site is really awesome. Tons of information too.

 

[Extollere]

Oh, and on the Gigagalaxyzoom site there are other photographs that you can zoom into (3 total at the top banner of the site) the image taken by serge brunier was just one of them. Really great stuff, sad that it didn't get much attention in the space thread, but it has been moving really slowly for a while now.

 

[B.K.]

Holy fucking shit.

I see pictures like that all the time. Can you really see that much of the galactic center from Earth or are the images edited to make it more visible?

 

[DarkJediKnight]

Amazing as usual! How I wish I could travel to just one of those systems.

 

[Sibylus]

That "The Starry Road" video is brilliant, it really puts everything into perspective. We like to think of our little world as a steadfast rock, unmoving and rooted in this turbulent universe, but it's really spiralling and coursing through the waves at mind-numbing speeds.

We're pinned to the surface of a skipping rock in the largest ocean ever glimpsed. Life is wonderful.

 

[Extollere]

You guys need to really see this one in full screen glory!

http://www.sergebrunier.com/gallerie/pleinciel/360.swf

 

[ToxicAdam]

Thanks for posting this. I wanted to see it the other day but it got slashdotted.


It makes me dizzy ... and sad(?)

 

[AlexMogil]

Gee whiz ya think there might be life out there maybe?

Mind boggling. I didn't make it out as well as Zaphod.

 

[AVclub]

Well, it took a minute, but after some zooming and tilting around, I found him!

Amazing!

 

[way more]

All that does is clarify how totally great and amazing I am. Don't you know? I'm mother fucking mac.

Now are you going to eat that fairy cake? Fuck it, If I told you how much I needed it I wouldn't have time to eat it.

 

[∀ Narayan]

All that does is clarify how totally great and amazing I am. Don't you know? I'm mother fucking mac.

Now are you going to eat that fairy cake? Fuck it, If I told you how much I needed it I wouldn't have time to eat it.

Get out.

 

[Eteric Rice]

Man, gotta love our galaxy.

Question: Those pictures showing them above the clouds. Is that really what the sky looks like if you can get that high up?

 

[way more]

Get out.

Shee, you guys are so unhip it's a wonder your bums don't fall off.

 

[Asmodai]

Such an awesome video.

Question: Those pictures showing them above the clouds. Is that really what the sky looks like if you can get that high up?

Yeah. You don't even necessarily need to be that high to be above the clouds if there is a really low cloud ceiling. And obviously flying in an aircraft makes it pretty easy to see clouds from the top.

 

[MrDenny]

It makes me wonder how other beings (aliens) look like on other planets.

 

[TOM f'N CRUISE]

It makes me wonder how other beings (aliens) look like on other planets.

me too

 

[Dan]

Damn, you can buy some prints but they're super expensive. I'd love to have one hanging on my wall.

 

[AkuMifune]

Stunning.

Reminds me of the Hubble ultra deep field survey – a single pin-point spot in the sky imaged over days. They are deepest views of the universe and go back to the very beginning of star formation not long after the big bang…looking back in time some 12 billion light years.

http://hubblesite.org/newscenter/archive/releases/2004/07/image/a/format/zoom/


Zoom in!

 

[sinxtanx]

Neat.

 

[Son of Godzilla]

Finally, proof that Earth is the center of the universe.

 

[Desiato]

All that does is clarify how totally great and amazing I am. Don't you know? I'm mother fucking mac.

Now are you going to eat that fairy cake? Fuck it, If I told you how much I needed it I wouldn't have time to eat it.

:lol

 

[Kitschkraft]

Incredible.

 

[notsol337]

This is why I'm happy to be an astronomer.

 

[∀ Narayan]

Shee, you guys are so unhip it's a wonder your bums don't fall off.

Get out.

 

[Scuba Steve]

Fuck everyone saying you need to do something with your life and experience the world....

....we need to do something with our lives and experience the universe

 

[BothBarsOn]

I'm so small! I had no idea. Dammit.

 

[Dr Zhivago]

I see pictures like that all the time. Can you really see that much of the galactic center from Earth or are the images edited to make it more visible?

It's probably a long exposure for the Milky Way, and then a flash for the guy and the telescope.

 

[Steppenwolf]

Google Earth does this way better.

http://earth.google.com/sky/skyedu.html

 

[nubbe]

Dunno but that kinda made me horney

 

[SmokyDave]

Welp, I'm not going to get a lot more work done today. Thanks OP!

 

[Extollere]

Finally, proof that Earth is the center of the universe.

wat...?

 

[Extollere]

Google Earth does this way better.

http://earth.google.com/sky/skyedu.html

I see your google Earth and raise you Stellarium.

http://www.stellarium.org/

 

[C.Dark.DN]

Well, it took a minute, but after some zooming and tilting around, I found him!

http://i34.tinypic.com/282fcs5.jpg

Amazing!

lame

 

[SSJChar]

I see pictures like that all the time. Can you really see that much of the galactic center from Earth or are the images edited to make it more visible?

I think i remember reading that it takes special filters for the camera to be able to see such images. I'm gonna google it when i get home, i'm pretty interested now.