We wager this is the most impressive view of the night sky you’re likely to see today. In an effort to capture a 360-degree panorama of the heavens above, amateur photographer Nick Risinger set about a year-long project that he called Photopic Sky Survey, travelling the western United States and even hopping across the seas to our fair country.

60,000 miles later and having taken an astounding 37,440 exposures, Risinger has created the largest-ever photograph of the night sky. The whopping 5,000 megapixel composite image shows the Milky Way, the planets, and tens of millions of stars. In this image, Risinger says we’re taking a look back in time.

Large in size and scope, it portrays a world far beyond the one beneath our feet and reveals our familiar Milky Way with unfamiliar clarity. When we look upon this image, we are in fact peering back in time, as much of the light—having traveled such vast distances—predates civilization itself.

There is even an interactive, zoom-able view of the night sky where you can scan across the panorama and identify the various constellations, planets, and nebulae. See this most amazing image and more information about it at Photopic Sky Survey.

[via PetaPixel]