The National Observatory for Optical and Infrared Astronomy (NOIRLab) has published a unique collection of images, including photographs of all 88 constellations officially recognized by the International Astronomical Union. As part of this project, the largest publicly available photograph of the night sky with a resolution of 40,000 pixels was presented. The photographs are available on the NOIRLab portal.

How the photograph was created

The author of the photograph was German astrophotographer Eckhard Slavik. For his work, he chose the darkest and cleanest places on the planet:

  • Waldenburg (Germany)
  • Tenerife and La Palma (Spain)
  • Namibia
  • Chile

The photographs were created using a unique technique. Each panel was photographed twice - with and without a diffuser. This made it possible to achieve high clarity and brightness of the stars and made them as visible as possible.

NOIRLab-Sky-Photo.jpg (88 KB)

Project Value

The project provides not only visual material, but also educational resources:

  • Cards with descriptions of constellations.
  • Audiovisual aids.

These materials are suitable for use in schools, planetariums and museums, and are also available for free download. Astronomy enthusiasts, students and scientists can use the images to study space and find constellations in the night sky.