In this short video I summarized all the best astro images I made over the last year. Most of the images have been taken from Boeblingen using a 8″ Newtonian telescope and an Atik383L+ camera. All the images are also available in full resolution on my website. The video has been composed using openshot, an open source video editor for Linux (many thanks to the development team).
Clear skies!
Last updated: June 20, 2022 at 21:24 pm
In July 2012 I already imaged M106 with my DMK31AU03.AS camera (no guiding). Now I wanted to try the same object with the Atik383L+ camera to see the difference.
There are additional galaxies around in that picture – NGC4248, NGC4231, NGC4232, NGC4217 and NGC4226! Here is a full resolution image which better shows the details of the image.
 | Date | 2013/04/19 |
 | Location | Böblingen / Germany |
 | Object | Spiral galaxy M106 |
 | Camera | Atik383L+ |
 | Guiding | yes, DMK31AU03.AS via OAG |
 | Telescope | 8" GSO Newtonian |
 | Barlow lens | none |
 | Mount | EQ6Syntrek |
 | Cooling | -15°C |
 | Luminance | unknown |
 | Red | unknown |
 | Green | unknown |
 | Blue | unknown |
 | Dark | unknown |
 | Flat | unknown |
 | Total exposure | unknown |
For stacking I used DeepSkyStacker 3.3.2 with Kappa-Sigma Clipping.
Clear skies!
Last updated: June 20, 2022 at 21:57 pm
I think sometimes it is hard to get a feeling for the magnification of a telescope – especially when you are relatively new to the topic (like me). So I decided to make a test with my naked eye vs my Newtonian telescope (focal length F=1000mm) in combination with my Atik383L+ camera to get a better idea of it’s magnification. The pixel size of the Atik383L+ is 5.4um x 5.4um. So the overall magnification factor should be about 107x.
To me the result is quite impressive. Talking about a magnification of about 100 is one thing – but seeing it is something else. When looking at the sky at night I think the applied magnification is not so obvious. I think this test image helps to get a rough idea.
Clear skies!
Last updated: June 20, 2022 at 22:03 pm
See the Moon through a 1000mm Newtonian telescope. This short video gives a first impression of how it is to look through a telescope. Since everyone already saw the moon without a telescope this is a good object because it allows an easy comparison. My telescope has a focal length of 1000mm. As camera I have use the DMK31AU03.AS from “The Image Source”. More details on the equipment can be found on the equipment page. If you are currently thinking about buying your first telescope, maybe this simplifies your decision 🙂
Clear skies!
Last updated: June 20, 2022 at 22:09 pm
The Virgo Cluster is a large cluster of galaxies in the constellation Virgo. It is approximately 65 million light years away from the earth. The brightest member is galaxy Messier 49 (M49) – a giant elliptical galaxy. To me it is amazing to see what can be done with this kind of amateur equipment! There is also a full resolution image available.
| Date | 2013/04/17 |
| Location | Böblingen / Germany |
| Object | Virgo Cluster |
| Camera | Atik383L+ |
| Guiding | yes, DMK31AU03.AS via OAG |
| Telescope | 8" GSO Newtonian |
| Barlow lens | none |
| Mount | EQ6Syntrek |
| Cooling | -15°C |
| Luminance | 9x 600s, bin: 1x1 |
| Red | 8x 150s, bin: 2x2 |
| Green | 8x 150s, bin: 2x2 |
| Blue | 8x 150s, bin: 2x2 |
| Dark | 4x |
| Flat | - |
| Total exposure | ~2h30m |
Clear skies!
Last updated: June 20, 2022 at 22:10 pm