Astrophoto: I Need Warp Speed in 3 Minutes or We’re All Dead

Is Earth going at warp speed in this image? This is a composite of two photographs, one for the foreground and one for the sky. The photographer zoomed in on the image of the Milky Way for the last 10 seconds of the exposure to give it a 'warp speed' look. Credit and copyright: Mike Taylor/Mike Taylor Photography.

Whoa! Having just returned from the science and science fiction mashup that is Dragon Con, my mind is still combining the two. Then I saw this image from Mike Taylor, which is one of the most unique Milky Way images I’ve ever seen. Perfect!

Mike said he combined two images, one for the foreground and one for the night sky image of the Milky Way. “I zoomed in on the Milky Way for the last 10 seconds of the exposure to give it the “warp speed” look,” he said.

He calls the image “Somniloquy” which is a term that describes the act of talking while asleep. Yep. I’m pretty sure that happened at Dragon Con, too….

Check out another awesome Milky Way image by Mike, below.

This is a 7 image vertical panorama of the night sky in Maine where the late Summer Milky Way makes a dramatic background for a small shack and tree.  Credit and copyright: Mike Taylor/Mike Taylor Photography.
This is a 7 image vertical panorama of the night sky in Maine where the late Summer Milky Way makes a dramatic background for a small shack and tree. Credit and copyright: Mike Taylor/Mike Taylor Photography.

Mike noted this image was taken right next to a cell tower that emits a red light over the landscape throughout the night. “Normally I would change the color balance but I decided to leave the red color in the foreground (although I toned it down quite a bit) to add to the overall feeling of the image,” he said. Mike stitched the images together via PTGui and processed through Lightroom 5 & Photoshop CS5.

Nikon D600 & 14-24 @ 14mm
f/2.8 – 7 x 30 secs – ISO 4000
08/28/14 – 10:20PM

You can see a discussion of this image on Mike’s G+ page.

The specs on the ‘warp speed’ image:

Milky Way image taken with a Nikon D600 & 14-24mm at 24mm, f/2.8 – 30 seconds at ISO 4000 on 05/30/14 at 1:38 AM at Goblin Valley State Park, Utah.

Foreground image also taken with the same camera at f/5.6 – 1/60 seconds at ISO 100 on 05/25/14 at 6:28 PM, on Potash Rd near Moab, Utah.

Mike offers photography classes, and you can find out more about when/where here.

Want to get your astrophoto featured on Universe Today? Join our Flickr group or send us your images by email (this means you’re giving us permission to post them). Please explain what’s in the picture, when you took it, the equipment you used, etc.

Annual Atlanta Star Party Coming Soon!

The 2012 Atlanta Star Party. Credit: Bruce Press

If you happen to be attending DragonCon or just live near Atlanta, come and listen to some fantastic speakers and help do astronomy research and education at the Annual Atlanta Star Party!

What: Since 2009, this annual charity event celebrates science and space, and brings people together for a great cause.

When: August 28, 2014, 7:00 p.m.

Pamela Gay and the crew at the 2013 Atlanta Star Party. Credit: Bruce Press
Pamela Gay and the crew at the 2013 Atlanta Star Party. Credit: Bruce Press

Who: Astronomers Pamela Gay, Nicole Gugliucci and Derek Demeter will be speaking at the event.

Where: The Emory University Math and Physics Department hosts the celebration at The Emory Math & Science Center, 400 Dowman Drive, Atlanta, GA 30322.

Why: Proceeds from the Star Party go to the Alzheimer’s Foundation of America and CosmoQuest. And, as always, we throw this party in memory of Jeff Medkeff, the “Blue-Collar Scientist.”

Family fun at the 2012 Atlanta Star Party. Credit: Bruce Press.
Family fun at the 2013 Atlanta Star Party. Credit: Bruce Press.

Tickets can be bought at http://atlantastarparty.com/tickets/ and you can share the promo code STARRY2014 for $5 off.

There is also a silent auction already started at: http://atlantastarparty.com/silent-auction/

Off to Dragon*Con

I’m just doing some final packing and then the wife and I will be flying out to Atlanta to participate in Dragon*Con 2010. This is a gigantic science fiction convention, and we try to represent Astronomy Cast there every year. We’re going to be doing the first ever live show of Astronomy Cast where Pamela and I will actually be together in the same room. Epic!

So if you’re going to be attending Dragon*Con and want to hang out, I should be lurking around the science/skeptic area.

Here’s my schedule so far, but I suspect I’ll be strong-armed into several other panels.

Title: Mystery of Hanny’s Voorwerp
Time: Fri 10:00 pm Location: Crystal Ballroom – Hilton (Length: 1)
Description: Who’s Hanny? What’s a Voorwerp? How’s Hubble involved? See the World Release of the webcomic that explains it all & the 1st Hubble images.

Title: The 2010 Parsec Awards
Time: Sat 04:00 pm Location: Regency V – Hyatt (Length: 2.5)
Description: The Parsec Award is available for original Sci-Fi & Fantasy & Speculative Fiction within the new frontiers of Portable Media.

Title: Astronomy Cast Live!
Time: Sun 01:00 pm Location: 204 – Hilton (Length: 1)
Description: Take a facts-based journey through the cosmos with Dr. Pamela Gay and Fraser Cain