The word panorama is derived from the Greek prefix pan-, meaning "all", and the suffix horama, meaning "sight".

In practical terms, it means an unobstructed or complete view of an area in every direction.

We present these panoramas as a way for you, the viewer, to see everything in an environment - left, right, up and down.

Journalistic accuracy is paramount in this production process. We hold these images to the same standards as the images on the news pages of The Observer:
* We don't add or remove elements from a scene.
* We don't change colors or make large changes to the light or dark areas of a scene.

The panoramic image is not meant to capture a specific moment in time, as a conventional photograph does. Rather, it captures an environment over a few seconds, much like moving a video camera in a circle.

What follows is information that will help you as a news consumer understand how these images are produced.