This evening the weather was supposed to be good. So I decided to go up to the Roque de Los Muchachos with my rented equipment to do some astrophotography. As usual things are not as easy with unfamiliar equipment end as always the devil lies in the detail. However, I did some testing before and so I was confident that it is going to work. This time I still did not make a good photo because after I setup everything (guiding was already running…) I was suddenly covered in clouds. After waiting for an hour I finally had to give up…
Still I enjoyed it a lot to be up there. Watching the sun going down and the magical growing of the horizon in the clear air has something magical in my eyes. Here are some photos and a short video of this evening.
Last updated: June 25, 2016 at 14:14 pm
La Palma – Visiting the Gran Telescopio Canarias (GTC)
One thing you should not miss when you are on La Palma is a visit of the Gran Telescopio Canarias (GTC) on top of the island at about 2400m above the sea. It is completely free and the tour just takes about one hour of your time (+ driving up and down el Roque). Currently (03/2013) the GTC is the biggest reflecting telescope worldwide. This is certainly especially interesting for people who have an affinity to technology and/or astronomy but it may also be interesting for everyone else to see this giant instrument of modern science on La Palma.
In order to visit the GTC telescope on La Palma, one has to Continue reading →
In order to visit the GTC telescope on La Palma, one has to Continue reading →
Astrophotography – A little summer in the sky – Imaging the Sunflower Galaxy (M63)
![]() | Date | 2013/03/04 |
![]() | Location | Böblingen / Germany |
![]() | Object | Sunflower Galaxy (M63) |
![]() | Camera | Atik383L+ |
![]() | Guiding | yes, DMK31AU03.AS via OAG |
![]() | Telescope | 8 |
![]() | Barlow lens | none |
![]() | Mount | EQ6 Syntrek |
![]() | Cooling | -15°C |
![]() | Luminance | unknown, bin: 1x1 |
![]() | Red | unknown, bin: 2x2 |
![]() | Green | unknown, bin: 2x2 |
![]() | Blue | unknown, bin: 2x2 |
![]() | Dark | unknown |
![]() | Flat | - |
![]() | Total exposure | unknown |
The image is also available in full resolution.
Last updated: June 4, 2019 at 11:06 amAstrophotography – Imaging the Whirlpool Galaxy (M51) with the Atik383L+ camera
![]() | Date | 2013/03/03 |
![]() | Location | Böblingen / Germany |
![]() | Object | M51 (Whirlpool Galaxy) |
![]() | Camera | Atik383L+ |
![]() | Guiding | yes, DMK31AU03.AS via OAG |
![]() | Telescope | 8" GSO Newtonian |
![]() | Barlow lens | none |
![]() | Mount | EQ6 Syntrek |
![]() | Cooling | -15°C |
![]() | Luminance | 4x, 400s, bin: 1x1 |
![]() | Red | 3x, 100s, bin: 2x2 |
![]() | Green | 3x, 100s, bin: 2x2 |
![]() | Blue | 3x, 100s, bin: 2x2 |
![]() | Dark | none |
![]() | Flat | none |
![]() | Total exposure | ~42min. |
Astrophotography – Bode’s Galaxy & Cigar Galaxy (M81 & M82)
![]() | Date | 2013/01/02 |
![]() | Location | Böblingen / Germany |
![]() | Object | M81 & M82 (Bode's Galaxy & Cigar Galaxy) |
![]() | Camera | Atik383L+ |
![]() | Guiding | yes, DMK31AU03.AS via OAG |
![]() | Telescope | 8" GSO Newtonian |
![]() | Barlow lens | none |
![]() | Mount | EQ6 Syntrek |
![]() | Cooling | -15°C |
![]() | Luminance | 3x, 20s, 40s, 100s, 300s, 600s (bin: 1x1) (HDR image) |
![]() | Red | 3x, 200s, bin: 2x2 |
![]() | Green | 3x, 200s, bin: 2x2 |
![]() | Blue | 3x, 200s, bin: 2x2 |
![]() | Dark | 3x |
![]() | Flat | none |
![]() | Total exposure | ~1h23min. |