Hawaii Time-Lapse Shows Night Sky From Mauna Kea Observatory (VIDEO)

WATCH: Gorgeous Time-Lapse Of Night Sky Above Hawaii

This video will make you feel like a tiny speck in the universe.

Shot at the University of Hawaii's Mauna Kea Observatories, located atop a 14,000-foot volcano on Big Island, the video shows a time-lapse of the night sky that includes gorgeous images of the Milky Way, the Andromeda Galaxy, and shooting stars.

Filmmaker Sean Goebel, a 23-year-old astronomy student at the university, endured sleepless nights, freezing temperatures, high winds, and bouts of altitude sickness to capture the stirring images.

Perhaps most impressive here are the lasers that can be seen shooting from the observatory into the sky. As Goebel explains on his website, the lasers prevent winds in the atmosphere from blurring the stars, so that objects can be seen in better detail. The light is so powerful that the observatory employs a "spotter" who has a "kill switch" to immediately turn off the lasers if a plane comes into sight.

Click the video above to watch.

Before You Go

Cool Stargazing Shots

Popular in the Community

Close

What's Hot