With time-lapse videos often covering periods of several years or more, we’ve been trained to to assume that, translated into real time, their subject is barely moving at a snail’s pace. And this is what makes Dan Maker-Moore’s incredible, 15-second time lapse of the moon rising over Los Angeles all the more astounding—the whole thing was shot in just under half an hour.
Particularly in GIF form, the moon’s ascension is mesmerizing, going from flaming marble to blindingly white as it cannonballs through the sky. Of course, once you consider the fact that this beautiful light show is most likely the effect of LA’s abominably high levels of air pollution, it starts to lose some of its magic. So try to put that thought aside, at least for now, and enjoy the pretty colors. [Dan Marker-Moore via Peta Pixel]