Moon-Egg
In this image the Moon appears almost like a perfect Easter egg. The photo was taken from the Southern Hemisphere, three days before the full Moon and a week before the Easter Holidays.
Foursome
A beautiful conjunction greeted sky-watchers this morning, as three planets and the crescent moon gathered for a cosmic rendezvous in the eastern sky. The three planets appeared in near-perfect alignment with Saturn at the top, Jupiter - the brightest - in the middle, and Mercury - the faintest - closest to the horizon.
Seventies revisited
Thanks to the ongoing pandemic another image of my creative self-portrait series. This deliberately defocused composite image received a special tone that evokes the Seventies.
When night is falling
This image sums it up perfectly: My passion for photography and my love of the night sky. I am very happy and extremely grateful that I have the opportunity to follow my passions and do what I love.
Great Conjunction
Those with clear skies were in for a special treat these days, when the planets Jupiter and Saturn began their dance around each other, which would bring them to a very close tête-à-tête on December 21, 2020. The astronomical community calls these rare close encounters "great conjunctions". They occur approximately every 20 years when Jupiter "overtakes" Saturn in its orbit. This year's great conjunction was the closest since 1623 and
Pretty in Pink
This is another image from my series of creative self-portraits. My idea was a deliberately defocused image - reminiscent of a painting - that leaves room for your imagination.
Observing the Night Sky
Together with a friend I had the opportunity to use a 50-cm Dobsonian telescope for nighttime observations. Although the moonlight prevented any serious observations we still got some nice views of the planets Jupiter, Saturn and Mars. And, we were really delighted, when we spotted some faint hues in the Orion nebula. Of course, we will have to repeat this venture during a moonless night.
The Universe at Your Fingertips
I am happy to announce that my article The Universe at Your Fingertips - Two thriving remote observatories in Northern Chile was published by the digital publication Amateur Astrophotography. You can download the original PDF here.Here are some selected photos.
Measuring Night Sky Quality
Our valley is in the process of applying for an IDA dark sky certification. In order to qualify, exact measurements of the night sky are necessary. A friend and I volunteered to conduct the actual measurements. Since we have a dusk-to-dawn curfew due to the pandemic, we needed a special permission for our nighttime adventure. Of course the measurements can only be done during the time of the so-called astronomical
Silhouette Selfie
I am a big fan of black & white portraits. So, it was no big step, to come up with the idea to create a silhouette self-portrait.