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Breathtaking time-lapse video makes me question Copernicus


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The earth revolves around the sun. It’s a true fact, and no conspiracy.

Even with such enlightenment, it’s nice to be reminded of why people once thought the opposite — that the universe revolves around the earth — to briefly knock us off our ivory tower of knowledge and be reminded of just how far we’ve come.

This feeling struck me as I watched ’Finding Oregon,’ a stunning time-lapse video from the Portland-based Uncage the Soul video production company. The four-minute video highlights the sky, in night and day, from different viewpoints around the state. Intended to be a tourism promotional film, it really does much more. It’s breathtaking, literally, and hair-raising in an inspiring, not horrifying, way. And watching the stars careen through the sky gave me pause. Because a person born in a vacuum would conclude that the heavens, in fact, revolve around the earth after watching the video.

So sit back, full screen the video, turn up the volume and enjoy. And click through to the vimeo page to learn more about how the team put the video together.

If your heart doesn’t stop, I declare you inhuman.

Image: Screenshot from ‘Finding Oregon

Hannah Waters About the Author: Hannah Waters writes about natural history and the way people think about nature. She lives and works in Washington, DC, but, really, on the internet. Follow on Twitter @hannahjwaters.

The views expressed are those of the author and are not necessarily those of Scientific American.





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  1. 1. Patrick Clarkin 2:31 pm 12/2/2011

    Phew. I’m human.

    Link to this
  2. 2. hanjeanwat 4:08 pm 12/2/2011

    I definitely had my doubts, so I’m glad we cleared that up!

    Link to this
  3. 3. Bora Zivkovic 8:07 pm 12/2/2011

    Absolutely breath-taking!

    Link to this
  4. 4. TheBugGeek 8:41 pm 12/2/2011

    Phew. Intense. My eyes are all…leaky. Powerful stuff.

    Link to this
  5. 5. Sherris 10:50 am 12/4/2011

    Is it contrarian to say that I found it to be a beautiful confirmation of our place in the universe? I felt like I could feel the Earth traveling through the vast reaches of immovable space.

    Link to this
  6. 6. Wayne Williamson 6:35 pm 12/13/2011

    Nice…I wish Hannah would have left out the blue screens and stuff…thanks anyway for posting…very much enjoyed…

    Link to this

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