If London Turned The Lights Off

A common muttering of London 'urban folk' who venture beyond their bubble of light pollution is the amazement of seeing stars as soon as night falls. It can become quite tedious. "There are so many of them!" Yes. "Is it always like this?" Depends on the clouds. "It's beautiful!" Yes. "It's so dark out here... Is there someone hiding behind that tree?" No. 

Blackout City is a stunning timelapse video that attempts to show what Londoners and other city types are missing out on every single night. Created by photographer and film maker Nicholas Buer, footage of London's skyline has been superimposed alongside composite shots (all real) taken around areas in the South of England free from light pollution. 

A beautiful vision of our galaxy and its stellar neighbours, Buer was inspired to put the project together after hearing a story about a blackout in LA in 1994. People starting calling 911 to report sightings of strange clouds floating in the sky. They were simply seeing the Milky Way for the first time. 

(Images: Nicholas Buer)

[Via: Gizmodo]