View larger. | Part of the new mosaic of the Milky Way by JP Metsavainio: 125 degrees of sky from Taurus to Cygnus, from 2009 to 2021. Image via JP Metsavainio.
JP Metsavainio is a Finnish astrophotographer who launched his mega-project on March 16, 2021: an impressive mosaic of our Milky Way galaxy spread across the night sky. Metsavainio wrote in his blog:
It took almost twelve years to gather enough data for this high-resolution gigapixel-class mosaic image of the Milky Way. The total exposure time used is about 1,250 hours between 2009 and 2021.
He achieved this by using his own small observatory in Oulu, Finland, with only a 12-inch telescope and photographic equipment. The panorama of the Milky Way of Metsavainio consists of 234 individual images, each created by itself as a work of art. Together, these hours translate into a 1.7-gigapixel image, 100,000 pixels in diameter.
In a region of 125 minutes of arc, ranging from the constellation of Taurus the Bull to the constellation of Cygnus the Swan, Finnish astrophotographer JP Metsavainio took 12 years to photograph and sew a deep panorama and detailed of our Milky Way galaxy stretching across the night sky. Image via JP Metsavainio.
View larger. | The final panoramic image of the Milky Way extends above 125 degrees of sky. Metsavainio made this photographic mosaic by means of special filters, only letting pass certain wavelengths. As a result, the colors you can see in this image come from light emitted by 3 ionized elements, that is, elements that have lost one or more electrons in their atoms; hydrogen (H-alpha), sulfur (S II) and oxygen (O III). Image via JP Metsavainio.
Schemes of the 234 individual images, photographed for a total of 1,250 hours, which Metsavainio used to create his panorama. Image via JP Metsavainio.
Metsavainio explained to EarthSky how it all began:
I decided to make a large mosaic image of the Milky Way over ten years ago. When I was aware it would take at least a decade to complete (and the work is still ongoing). As a visual artist, composing the image means a lot to me. Over the years I have taken hundreds of individual targets from the Milky Way. Each image taken is an independent work of art. At the same time, he always took into account the needs of the great final composition. This is like having a short-term plan in action, but at the same time having a long-term plan behind it all.
Finnish astrophotographer JP Metsavainio has created a detailed and profound panorama of the Milky Way galaxy. Image via JP Metsavainio.
Recently, the Metsavainio project has attracted a lot of attention, and rightly so. Extreme detail and depth are reminiscent of images from the Hubble Space Telescope.
An illustration of how the landscape was mosaiced over time. Image via JP Metsavainio.
The Metsavainio Observatory is located in the center of his hometown, Oulu, on the west coast of Finland, and is therefore subject to a good amount of light pollution. This is the reason why it filters the light and measures the calls narrowband emissions; that is, it only lets light through narrow windows at specific wavelengths, at the wavelengths of ionized hydrogen (H-alpha), sulfur, and oxygen (S II and O III). ).
Metsavainio created these images thinking first of the art, but of scientific way. He told EarthSky:
I have no scientific ambitions, but my photos meet the rules of scientific imagery. They have been used previously for some scientific purposes and also have this kind of value. As a visual artist, I like to give people a visual experience, even if they have no idea what they are looking at.
And the line between science and art can sometimes be fine, especially when it comes to astrophotography. For example, NASA’s astronomical image of the day (APOD) has included many of Metsavainio’s images, explaining the science that can be seen in each of them (recent examples here and here).
We recommend that you visit the website of JP Metsavainio to delve into a high-resolution version of the panorama of the Milky Way and the images that make it up, as well as for more details on how he developed this project.
Below are two close-ups of regions of the big picture:
The bow fronts arching around a region where once a star is exploded are visible on the right side of this image. The supernova remnant is called G65.3 + 5.7 and this image required 60 hours of exposure time. The moon at the bottom left shows the scale of this image. Image via JP Metsavainio.
The California Nebula, which got its name because it resembles the state of California, is at the bottom left of the large panoramic image. The moon (below, left) shows the scale of this image. Image via JP Metsavainio.
With simple tools, excellent results can be obtained. Metsavainio used this small observatory in the center of the Finnish city of Oulu to observe the Milky Way. Image via JP Metsavainio.
In a nutshell: Finnish astrophotographer JP Metsavainio spent nearly 12 years photographing the Milky Way galaxy and joining 234 individual frames to form a large panorama of our galaxy.
Source: Milky Way, 12 years, 1250 hours of exposure and 125 x 22 degrees of sky
