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Instagrammer and astrophotographer extraordinaire, Andrew McCarthy (aka @cosmic_background) posted what has to be my favorite Instagram Reel of the week. Even before all those cute and funny dog ​​videos that seem to dominate my newsfeed…

The reel in question depicts the historic launch of SpaceX Starship Flight Test 5, which launched on October 13 and will be immortalized in the annals of history as the first booster “caught” upon its return to Earth. Andrew’s video, which you can watch below, offers an unprecedented view of the proceedings.

He hired a $17,000 lens to capture the event from a distance of 5 miles, tracking the craft’s flight as it reached an altitude of up to 50 miles. But most impressive is the fact that he says: “Every frame of the video is tracked and stabilized by hand. »

The video shows the ship lifting off from the launch pad, passing through Earth’s atmosphere, the Super Heavy booster detaching, its boosters firing to slow its descent to Earth, and finally the historic capture of the launch pad.

The historical “trap” is almost obscured by a person jumping on camera – probably with exhilaration – in what would have been a real tragedy. Luckily, Andrew kept a cool head, managed not to panic, and still captured the climactic moment.

At one point in the video, the astrophotographer admits to adding more cuts as the booster detaches, due to tracking difficulties. But from my point of view, the whole video is nothing less breathtaking.

If that wasn’t enough, Andrew also posted an equally impressive composite photo, depicting every major milestone of the launch. In total, this is a 280 MP mega image and is available to order via the link in his Instagram bio. Alternatively, he also has plenty of equally stellar impressions on his website.

If you’re an astrophotography enthusiast, be sure to keep tabs on what you want to photograph via our Astrophotography guide in October. I also published a guide on how to get a photo of comet Tsuchinshan-ATLAS this evening before it disappears for 80,000 years.

For more galactic gifts, check out best camera for astrophotography and the best star tracker camera mounts.