NGC891

Posted on 13/10/2018 by philipp

NGC 891 is a beautiful spiral galaxy which is seen perpendicular to it’s rotational axis, so we see it edge on.

It is located in Andromeda, so there are many foreground stars.

I have seen it in telescopes as small as 15cm aperture, in my 250mm the dust lane becomes visible, but in a larger scope, like the 40cm I recently observed with, it is a really beautiful sight. But of course not as detailed as in this image.

NGC 891, Galaxy in Andromeda, distance: ~30 million light-years- 45*180s (2h 15min), QHY163c, Astro-Physics 127mm f/8 refractor.

Testing the QHY163c camera

Posted on 11/10/2018 by philipp

The Vorarlberger Amateur Astronomen acquired a QHY163c cooled CMOS camera. It is based on a Panasonic Micro-Four-Thirds (m43) sensor, but has added cooling and an astronomical suitable ir-cut filter. Read More →

Comet 21P/Giacobini Zinner at the Lange Nacht der Sterne

Posted on 09/09/2018 by philipp

Here are some first results of this weekends “Lange Nacht der Sterne” starparty.

50x30s, ISO6400, 300mm, f/4, Nikon D750, Hoya Red Intensifier, VIxen Polarie.

Perseids 2018

Posted on 18/08/2018 by philipp

Me and my family spend the night of August 11th on the Gamserrugg mountain (2075m, 6811ft elevation) in Switzerland, where a friend works as the shepherd during summer. Read More →

Lenses and constellations

Posted on 18/08/2018 by philipp

Modern lenses provide pinpoint stars in nighsky photos, But this reduces all stars to small points, constellations are almost unrecognizable.

This is an image which is a part of a timelapse sequence taken with a Sony #RX100 IV camera. Mars, Saturn and the Milky Way are clearly visible.

Sony RX100, f/1.8, 15s, ISO 3200

Lunar Eclipse from Corsica

Posted on 07/08/2018 by philipp

The longest lunar eclipse of the 21st century took place during our vacation in Corsica, here are some shots taken from the beach:

Since this was a camping vacation I only had minimal gear with me, a Sony RX100 IV compact camera, and my wife’s Olympus E-PL5 with the kit zoom lenses. The 40-150mm is equivalent to 300mm on full-frame cameras, so the close-ups are cropped heavily.