Astronomy, Photography, Travel

This is my personal website and these are the topics that interest me. I hope you enjoy this site.

Please note: this website has mixed content in English and German!

For those who are looking for information about travel destinations and especially US National Parks: please visit the photo galleries in the Photography section.

Deep Sky Astro pictures are here => Deep Sky Picture Gallery

Please also visit my new domain www.Lippeauen.de with reports from the nature reserves at the Lippe floodplains!

 

Aktuelle Themen:

Astrophotography at the Col du Restefond in the French Alps

Tansania - The Serengeti and the Ngorongoro Crater in the rainy season

La Palma 2022 - Nature- and Astrophotography on the Isla Bonita

USA 2023 - Yellowstone National Park and Colorado Plateau

USA 2024 - Pacific Northwest, Olympic Park and Redwood Nationalpark

 

Videos:

Celestron Triple RASA11 Astrograph on the 10micron GM3000 mount

Click here for the 4K video on my YouTube channel.

 

Astrophotography on La Palma with the 10micron GM1000HPS Mount

Click here for the 4K video on my YouTube channel.

 

10micron GM3000HPS - Review of an astronomical mount

Click here for the 4K video on my YouTube channel.

 

 

Astronomy on the Silvretta High Alpine Road

Click here for the 4K video on my YouTube channel.

 

Out in the Dark - Astronomy at the Col de Restefond in the French Alps

Click here for the 4K video on my YouTube channel.

 

Imaging the Eagle Nebula

Click here for the 4K video on my YouTube channel.

 

 

Videos from Africa: Tanzania in the rainy season

In January 2020, I visited Tanzania as part of a guided tour. I hired a Toyota Landcruiser and two experienced local guides to travel to the Serengeti and the Ngorongoro Crater. This was the first time I wasn't driving myself, unlike my other trips to Africa. I expected to be in Tanzania at a pretty good time in the low season, well before the start of the rainy season, which normally starts at the end of February. But this time everything was different. It was already raining a lot in Tanzania at the beginning of January, and during my visit the conditions worsened considerably. Many roads were flooded, houses and hotels were under water - and the national parks and nature reserves such as the Serengeti and the Ngorongoro Crater were also badly affected. In this video I have compiled the film material from several cameras during the trip through the Ngorongoro Crater and the Serengeti. Unfortunately, some clips are quite shaky due to the bumpy roads. Sorry.
The Ngorongoro Crater and the Serengeti are truly natural wonders. I wish I had had more time to enjoy the nature and wildlife in better weather conditions. Maybe in the distant future...

Part: Mud and Water in Ngorongoro

Click here for the 4K video on my YouTube channel.

 

Part 2: Mud and Water in the Serengeti

Click here for the 4K video on my YouTube channel.

 

Part 3: Shortcuts Tanzania - The Serengeti Plains

Click here for the 4K video on my YouTube channel.

 

Part 4: Shortcuts Tanzania - Central Serengeti

Click here for the 4K video on my YouTube channel.

 

Part 5: Shortcuts Tanzania - Arusha National Park

Click here for the 4K video on my YouTube channel.

 

 

Current photos - a selection:

The evolution of a dream... The Celestron Triple RASA11 Astrograph! I was finally able to complete my Astrophoto setup and acquire a third RASA11. You could also mistake it for a missile defence system...

 

Messier 33 at 122 hours integration time with the Triple RASA11 at f2.2. This is my personal integration time record. The deepest astro picture I have yet obtained with a limiting magnitude of 21 mag here under Bortle 7 skies. Please go to the deep sky section to watch the annotated version.

 

The Dark Shar Nebula in the constellation Cepheus.61h integration time with the Triple RASA11 at f2.2. Please go to the deep sky section to watch the annotated version.

 

My mobile imaging rig with the ASA10N f3.8 and the 10micron GM1000HPS under the dark sky of the French Col de Restefond in Summer 2024.

 

Norther Lights in North Rhine Westphalia in Germany, Summer 2024.

 

 

The annular solar eclipse in the USA in August 2023, photographed near Moab, Utha.

 

The planet Mars on 22 October 2020 shortly after its record double position. Unfortunately, in 2003 I missed the opportunity to observe the best Mars opposition for decades with suitable equipment and under good conditions. So it wasn't until this year that I personally had the opportunity to put Mars in my crosshairs for the first time and observe it with suitable equipment in my garden observatory and photograph it with modern cameras. There won't be a similarly good opportunity to observe the red planet again until 2033. I used my new Celestron C11 Schmidt-Cassegrain together with an ASI120 CMOS camera and IR-RGB filter to create this image. In the centre of the image you can see Valles Marineris, the largest canyon in the solar system, which is as long as the entire USA and 100x as wide as the Grand Canyon. Mars is around 22‘ in size in this image and the image resolution is well below 1’. A great result for my observation location, for which I am grateful!

 

My best Jupiter photo so far, taken on a night with fairly good seeeing here in the Ruhrgebiet, which is a very rare event. Celestron C14 XLT with ASI178MM.

 

Comet C/2020 F3 Neowise on 18 July 2020, taken in Gantrisch in Switzerland with the Canon EOS R and the Canon EF 500 f4 L IS II USM. Visually, the bluish ion tail was visible that night with binoculars over a longitude of more than 10°. This comet is certainly an extraordinary object in terms of its good visibility from the northern hemisphere, both photographically and visually.

 

Observing the summer night sky with a large Dobsonian telescope under the darkest sky is certainly a dream of many amateur astronomers. In August 2022 I was on La Palma at an altitude of approx. 2000m at Llanos de las Animas and spent a night scanning the prime objects of the summer sky with this 16’ Infinity Dobsonian. A wonderful experience! Canon EOS R with Irix Firefly 15mm f2.5.

 

Dawn at Roque de Los Muchachos, La Palma, at 2000m altitude after a long clear night under the stars. The young crescent moon rises over the sea of clouds of the Atlantic and illuminates my astrophoto setup with the 10micron GM1000HPS and my TMB APO.

 

A small chapel on the Bieler Höhe on the Silvretta High Alpine Road in front of the rising constellation of Orion. Canon EOS R with RF24-105 f4 at 61mm. 10min exposure at ISO800.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Marina Bay in Singapore is one of the most popular tourist destinations in this city state in south-east Asia. The architectural beauty of this part of the city unfolds especially at night. Below: Helix Bridge with Maria Bay Sands Hotel and ArtScience Museum. Below: Apple Marina Bay Dome and MBFC skyline at dusk. Canon EOS RP with Irix Firefly 15mm f2.4 on tripod.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Delicate Arch in Arches National Park, USA. Photo taken with 400mm Tele lens seen from the Upper Delicate Arch Viewing Point. Canon EOS R5 und EF-100-400@400mm.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Dubai...megalomania. Hardly anyone will be able to escape the fascination of this city of superlatives. Below: Burj Khalifa and Dubai Mall with surrounding hotels, photographed from the Sky View of The Address Sky View Hotel at dusk. Unfortunately, there is no outdoor observation deck and you have to photograph through a double pane of glass. Below: the light spectacle unfolds in the dark. Canon EOS RP with Irix Firefly 15mm f2.4 on tripod.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Mt.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The 770m high LED 3D mapping light show on the facade of the Burj Khalifa together with super-bright spotlights is unrivalled worldwide. Canon EOS RP with Irix Firefly 15mm f2.4 on tripod.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco is legendary and probably one of the most photographed structures in the world. Shortly before global air traffic was shut down due to the coronavirus pandemic, I had the opportunity to visit this impressive bridge again at the beginning of March 2020. After fog had prevented a view of the bridge in August 2019, the view was perfect at sunset in March. Canon EOS R with EF 24-105.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Meaklong Railway Market in Thailand near Bangkok. Canon EOS RP + RF24-105.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Ngorongoro Crater in Tanzania is a World Natural and Cultural Heritage Site and is probably one of the most spectacular places in the world for nature photographers. The wildlife in this protected area is legendary and the landscape unique. Here is a view of the crater from the view point on the crater rim near the Ngorongoro Crater Lodge. Shortly beforehand, there had been unusually heavy rainfall in January and early February 2020, around a month before the start of the actual rainy season. As a result, many areas in the crater were flooded and the paths were impassable. There are normally dozens of safari vehicles in the park. With the binoculars, we could only make out a few vehicles, all of which were stuck in the mud. Canon EOS R with RF 24-105.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Turren Arch at Sunset. Arches National Park, USA, in October 2023. Canon EOS R5 + RF24-105L.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Bryce Canyon at Sunrise. Bryce Canyon NP, USA, in October 2023. Canon EOS R5 + RF24-105L:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Das

 

Matterhorn reflected in the Riffelsee at about 3000m above sea level. Canon EOS R with Irix Firefly 15mm.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Steambot Geysir in Norris Geysir Basin, Yellowstone NP, USA, in October 2023. Canon EOS R5 + RF24-105L.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A young leopard in Chobe National Park is watching me. The animal's intense eyes stare mysteriously at the observer. The animal is sitting in a tree and I am less than 15 metres away in the off-road vehicle. How fortunate that there is a car door between him and me. The proximity to the animal and the resolution of the Canon 5DsR with its 50 MP on the EF 500 f4 II allows every single hair of the leopard to be recognised in the original image!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Moon Bar is a rooftop bar at the Banyon Tree Hotel in Bangkok, Thailand. At sunset you can enjoy a breathtaking view over the Bangkok skyline while enjoying a cocktail in a relaxed atmosphere. Canon EOS RP + RF24-105STM.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

24" Clark Refractor at Lowell Observatory, Flagstaff, Arizona, USA. With this instrument Percival Lowell observed Mars and saw the infamous Mars Canals. Canon EOS R5 + Irix 15mm f2.4.