The 'breathtaking' time-lapse video of the Milky Way

A photographer spends a week on a mountain in Spain, and returns with mesmerizing footage of our star-packed galaxy

Best Opinion:  Guardian, NPR

The video: Some things are worth losing sleep over. Earlier this month, Norwegian landscape photographer Terje Sorgjerd trekked to El Teide, the highest mountain in Spain, and stayed awake for many, many nights to capture "simply breathtaking" time-lapse footage of the Milky Way galaxy. (See the video below.) Sprawled out over the lush landscape, the stars seemed close enough to reach out and touch. The video, called The Mountain, was shot over seven days in which Sorgjerd stayed outside with his camera, and without a tent or sleeping bag. "I think I got less than 10 hours of sleep for the whole week in total up there," Sorgjerd says.
The reaction: "There are things in this world that do not need any words. This video captures some of them," says The Guardian. Yes, and "in an era when it's difficult for most of us to see even a few stars through the city/suburban haze, you have to thank Sorgjerd for his efforts," says Adam Frank at NPR. Check out The Mountain for yourself: