Author Archives: mj

h and Chi Persei – NGC 869 / 884

astrofotografie, astronomie, astronomy, astrophotography, h and chi persei, ngc, ngc869, ngc884, open cluster, perseus, star, star cluster, stars, stern, sterne, sternhaufen

h and Chi Persei – NGC 869 and 884 – Nov 2018

[Update]

Daten vom November 2018. Vor allem ein Test, um herauszufinden, wie weit mit der Belichtungszeit herunter gegangen werden muss, um gute Sternfarben zu erhalten. 100s mit der ASI 294MC Pro bei Gain 120 und f/5.5 scheinen brauchbar, 200s waren schon zu lang. Details bei Astrobin.

Data from November 2018. Primarily a test for exposure time to get proper star colors. 100s with the ASI 294MC Pro at gain 120 and f/5.5 work well, 200s were already too long. Details at Astrobin.

Eclipsed Supermoon versus Micromoon

2018, 2019, astrofotografie, astronomie, astronomy, astrophotography, cologne, eclipse, ereignisse, events, finsternis, köln, lunar, lunar eclipse, lunar-eclipse-21-jan-2019, lunar-eclipse-27-jul-2018, micromoon, mond, mondfinsternis, moon, solar system, sonnensystem, supermoon

Moon size at U3, TLE 27 Jul 2018 vs. 21 Jan 2019

As a follow-up to last month’s total lunar eclipse, this image shows the comparison of the apparent moon size at U3 (end of totality) with the previous eclipse of July 2018, both observed in Cologne, Germany.

Left: Total Lunar Eclipses of 27 Jul 2018 at U3 23:13:12 CEST, distance* Cologne-Moon 406 196 km, full moon at apogee, sometimes called “Micromoon”.

Right: Total Lunar Eclipse of 21 Jan 2019 at U3 06:43:24 CET, distance* Cologne-Moon 358 064 km, full moon at perigee, nowadays called “Supermoon”, giving rise to the blatant “Super Wolf Blood Moon” nuisance.

* Distance at meridian passing according to timeanddate.com

Lunar Eclipse 21 Jan 2019

astrofotografie, astronomie, astronomy, astrophotography, beleuchtung, cathedral, city lights, cologne, dom, domspitzen, eclipse, finsternis, illumination, köln, lichter, lichter der stadt, lights, lunar, lunar eclipse, mond, mondfinsternis, moon, solar system, sonnensystem

Lunar Eclipse 21 Jan 2019 – Trail over Cologne Cathedral

[Update] WOW, what a pleasant surprise. This image made it as Astronomy Picture of the Day on 22 Jan 2019!

This lunar eclipse trail shows the partially and totally eclipsed Moon over the Unesco World Heritage Cologne Cathedral, Germany, amongst ultra-bright city lights. Normally this isn’t an astronomy hot spot, and it’s hard to make out any stars beyond Mag 2 at this location. But given the geometry of the setting moon and the lunar eclipse I simply had to do this. ;-)

Composite of 68 images for the moon trail from 04h41 until 07h29 CET edited in Lightroom/Photoshop, thereof 3 for the foreground and the dawn sky at 07h29 CET, removing a bicyclist and a pedestrian. Some horizontal stray light from the street lights.

We spent a total of 4 hours at around -7 °C at the Hohenzollern Bridge, but that’s the fate of the astronomically minded.

Continue reading →

NGC 281 BW

NGC 281 – Pacman Nebula – Sep 2018 v2 BW (R=Ha)

Black and white version of NGC 281, modified processing of the previous image, extracted the red channel, which is approx. 20 nm H-alpha with the IDAS LPS V4 filter.

Schwarzweiß-Version des NGC 281, modifizierte Bearbeitung, extrahiert wurde der Rotkanal des vorherigen Bilds, der IDAS LPS V4 verhält sich im Rotbereich wie ein ca. 20 nm H-alpha-Filter.