Timelapse footage of fixed stars and a spinning Earth

If you need a reminder that you’re standing on a rapidly spinning rock hurtling through the universe, look no further.

We all know that the Earth turns while the stars stay still, but looking at the night sky it’s hard to shake the feeling that it’s the other way around. A new video helps to straighten things out by taking timelapse footage of the skies above the Very Large Telescope in Chile and using clever editing techniques to hold the stars in the background steady while the ground and buildings revolve.

Warning: may cause seasickness, vertigo and/or feelings of cosmic insignificance.

Here is the original footage taken on location by Stephane Guisard and Jose Francisco Salgado from the European Southern Observatory (ESO).