Stunning Panoramic Photo Taken Atop WTC Spire

A new interactive photo taken from the spire of the nearly completed World Trade Center tower offers stunning 360-degree views that can be zoomed in and out.

The high-resolution image, taken by Time magazine, includes landmarks such as the Statue of Liberty and the Empire State Building, after the magazine got exclusive access to the tower’s spire from the Port Authority. It took eight months to design and construct a 13-foot rotating arm to which a camera with a 100-millimeter lens was mounted.

“Over a five-hour span of orbital shooting on Sept. 28, 2013, the camera produced 567 pictures that were then stitched together digitally into a single massive — and zoomable — image of everything the eye can see in all directions,” Time wrote.

The photography equipment is based on the same technology employed by NASA’s Mars rovers to capture the images of the red planet.

The magazine came up with the idea of shooting the photo because it wanted to “create a new image that would memorialize the rebirth, the healing of Lower Manhattan following 9/11,” said Jonathan Woods, Time’s senior editor of photo and interactive.

“More than anything, when people see this photo, I hope they appreciate being brought somewhere where they can’t go,” he added.

This article appeared in print on page 6 of the March 7th, 2014 edition of Hamodia.