VLT (Very Large Telescope) HD Timelapse Footage
Why Hacker News recommends it
Commenters recommend it as an awe-inspiring way to feel Earth's rotation and our place in space.
What it is
A timelapse compilation of the night sky above the Very Large Telescope at Paranal, Chile, using ESO photographers' footage set to music. It shows the stars wheeling overhead and the observatory at work.
Recommended by 2 HN commenters across 3 different months, 2017 to 2026.
What Hacker News said
Strong rec dTal · 2022-03 · on “A Rocket Launch Seen from the ISS”
Well, I'm not really a fan of picking favorites, but since we're talking about astronomical time lapses, I think this one must surely rank highly: [this video]
Strong rec tohuvavohu · 2024-07 · on “Why is Chile so long?”
Watching this footage of the Very Large Telescope in Chile was the first time I really grasped that we're all together on a rock tumbling through the vastness of space: [this video]
Recommends dTal · 2017-02 · on “Seven earth-sized planets discovered circling a star 39 light years from Earth”
Wanderers is indeed excellent. See also: the timelapse footage of the sky from the VLT, Paranal. Just thinking about it gives me vertigo. [this video]
Cites recursivegirth · 2026-03 · on “My Astrophotography in the Movie Project Hail Mary”
Earth moves - that's how you get the next shot without repositioning the telescope. This time-lapse probably better visualizes it: [this video]