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Get Lost In This 1 Gigapexel Photo Inside the USAF Museum

Last summer the United States Air Force Museum officially opened the doors on their fourth hangar featuring some very exotic aircraft like the XB-70 Valkre Supersonic bomber. All the museum exhibits are open to the public free of charge, but if you can’t make the trip to Dayton, Ohio, this massive composite image is the next best thing.

The photo spans over 190 degrees from left to right and is compiled from 115 separate images stitched together to create a panoramic experience at a resolution of over 1 gigapixel—1,030 megapixels to be exact. During your virtual trip around the museum, you’ll get detailed views of the world’s fasted air breathing jet, the SR-71. You’ll also take a gander at the X-15, claiming the highest speed ever recorded by a manned aircraft.

There are many more fascinating aircraft ready to explore in four different—Presidential, Research and Development, Space, and Global Reach. The building also hosts three science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) Learning Nodes. And if that doesn’t satiate your historic aircraft viewing cravings, the museum’s website also features 360-degree interactive cockpit photos from over 60 of its other exhibits.

To make these massive pictures, a photographer uses an automated rotating gimbal made by Gigapan. Once the boundaries of the desired image are defined, the device can automatically meter and focus through a series of shots all while seamlessly stitching them to create an impressive ultra high-resolution photo.

It’s a neat piece of a technology and a perfect one to show off examples of the U.S.’s aerospace achievement.

[You will have to go to the web page to see and manipulate the full picture.]