http://thespiritscience.net/2014/06/19/toroidal-sky-the-first-ever-360-degree-time-lapse-bends-space-and-mind/

Toroidal Sky – The first ever 360-degree time-lapse bends Space and Mind
June 19, 2014 Jordan

I’ve never seen anything like this stunning 360-degree time-lapse videos by photographer Vincent Brady. Honestly, I think it’s the first one ever. He made them using a multiple camera 360-degree time-lapse panorama after years spent experimenting and customizing his kit.

What gets me by far is the Toroidal Flow. I mean, i’ve NEVER seen it do that before, and yet it makes so much sense and flows so beautifully!

In his own words:

While experimenting with different photography tricks and techniques back in 2012, I was shooting 360 degree panoramas in the daytime and long exposures of the stars streaking in the sky at night. It suddenly became clear that the potential to combine the two techniques could be a trip! Since the Earth is rotating at a steady 1,040 mph I created a custom rig of 4 cameras with fisheye lenses to capture the entire night-sky in motion. Thus the images show the stars rotating around the north star as well as the effect of the southern pole as well and a 360 degree panorama of the scene on Earth.

Each camera is doing nonstop long exposures, typically about 1 minute consecutively for the life of the camera battery. Usually about 3 hours. I then made a script to stitch all the thousands of these panoramas into this time-lapse. I created my rig in January of 2013 while in my final semester at Lansing Community College before receiving an associates degree in photography.

Given it was winter in Michigan, I didn’t get to chase the notorious clear moonless night sky as much as I had hoped as the region has lots of cloud cover that time of year. Though I was ready on the rare night to go experiment. After graduating in May I had built up quite the urge to hit the road. My rig has taken me to firefly parties in Missouri, dark eerie nights at Devils Tower, through Logan Pass at Glacier National Park, up the mountains of British Columbia, and around the amazing arches and sandstone monuments in the Great American Southwest.