Finnish astrophotographer J-P Metsavainio posted a photo of the Milky Way that took him almost 12 years to create. The 1.7 gigapixel image has a total exposure time of 1250 hours.
Metsavainio began his project back in 2009. The final photo is 100,000 pixels wide and comprises 234 individual panels stitched together. The photo shows about 20 million visible stars.
“I think this is a first image ever showing the Milky Way in this resolution and depth at all three color channels (H-a, S-II, and O-III),” Metsavainio tells PetaPixel.
To view the high-res photo, you can visit Metsavainio’s website and Facebook.
Here are some of the individual works of art that can be seen in very small areas of the finished photo:
