Milky Way Time Lapse From South Dakota (VIDEO)

Randy Halverson spent three weeks braving the South Dakota Plains winds to capture this video, and we're sure glad he did.

Wired reports that it took Halverson around 20 shoots lasting between three and four hours to capture all the photographs. At that rate, each second in the video represents 14 minutes.

Halverson wrote in the video's description that weather was his biggest challenge:

There were very few nights, when I could shoot, that were perfectly clear, and often the wind was blowing 25mph +. That made it hard to get the shots I wanted. I kept most of the shots low to the ground, so the wind wouldn't catch the setup and cause camera shake, or blow it over.

Earlier this year, Terje Sorgjerd captured incredible footage of the Milky Way from Spain. And last year, Vimeo user Charles shared his Milky Way time-lapse from Hawaii.

Check out the amazing video and let us know what you think in the comments. And be sure to keep your eyes peeled for a shooting star!

Plains Milky Way from Randy Halverson on Vimeo.

Comments

[Gerry S Xydis]

05:08 PM on 08/09/2011

This is awesome.....what song is this?

[2sunny]

10:12 AM on 06/20/2011

Breathless.....you-all shoud see a winters night sky in the Dakotas. The freezing landscape causes the cities lights to SHOOT straight up into the sky. Ahhhhhh I'm a praire Girl.

[ArbitorA]

10:42 PM on 06/19/2011

Its sad and amazing to think that 80 years ago from almost anywhere in the US the starry night hugged the horizon in every direction.

Today, young people virtually everywhere in the US may only witness stars by nearly straight gazing up.

[harleydesigns]

09:50 PM on 06/19/2011

Years ago, I was touring with a woman who, when we travelled at night, found the spaces between towns disturbing. her comment was "there's no light out here, how do people live like that?". I felt sorry for her, because I could see starlight all over the place. it was beautiful. if ever I hit the lottery big time, I think I would buy a farm way out in the middle of nowhere wyoming, or N. Dakota, just so I could look at the stars....

[amaboss52]

01:06 PM on 06/18/2011

Awesome and beautiful!

[StephenJK]

01:50 AM on 06/18/2011

Into the dark rift we go...

[Kay Davis Russell]

12:29 AM on 06/18/2011

The Traditional Lakota (sioux) have some tatoo marks on their wrists-a kind of passport to the Spirit Land which the whites call The Milky Way - The Owl Spirit _Hinhan Nagi examines every soul and lets only those with tatoos pass on (to) their destination. Aho

[StephenJK]

01:54 AM on 06/18/2011

:) Awesome!

[TheSarge]

01:54 PM on 06/17/2011

Wow ! I miss those nights on the farm growing up, all those stars and galaxies.

[RaceCondition]

12:40 PM on 06/17/2011

This is what I miss about living in Iowa. I used to love to lay in a field and stare at the sky. So many stars.

[Susan Osterhout Troiano]

10:56 AM on 06/17/2011

Seeing images like this makes on appreciate the beauty of our universe and one can witness the night skies in the country. My family had a house in Vermont we used during the summer and I often love taking the canoe out and just lay in it and watch the sky, and seeing tons of shooting stars. This video was awesome.

[DSOTM]

09:52 AM on 06/17/2011

We are not alone.

[AztecSezWhut]

08:21 AM on 06/17/2011

I lived in Wyoming until I was 18 and this is what made it so special. Seeing that the first time and realizing what I was looking at, IS why I loved camping in the Rockies and late nights gazing upward with Friends and Family. If you ever get a chance in your life to visit the wide open prairies of the West, make it a point to stay up all night and just take it in. What you will gain is an absolute perspective of how small we are and ultimately, how amazing our Universe is and the fortunate circumstances it took for us to be here. Absolutely nothing can take or be given credit for this infinite masterpiece.

[StephenJK]

01:48 AM on 06/18/2011

Some people, such as myself, believe that there is a higher consciousness that we derive our own from. Call it God, call it what you will. That is "who" I give credit to for this masterpiece and that is "who" I thank every day and try to honor that "who".

[joyf1]

06:48 PM on 06/19/2011

I lived in west central Wyoming for 25 years, out in the boonies. But, I really didn't get to appreciate the skies until I moved to San Juan Island. Sitting on the deck for hours watching the Leonids is a yearly tradition. No mosquitoes to chase me inside! Or -25 degrees, or wind, wind, and more wind.

[Proud Progressive]

08:15 AM on 06/17/2011

Wow!

[Tanrioldu]

08:04 AM on 06/17/2011

Very nice work. Although I preferred Terje's version.

[Beverly Price]

07:53 AM on 06/17/2011

Randy, It Mezmerized Me.

What diligence.....Whew!