Today ATT Essen

The biggest astronomy fair for Amateurs will open today it's doors at 10AM in Essen (Germany). It will be my third time visiting this interesting event.

The ATT is Europe's biggest exhibition especially for amateur astronomers. You will find state-of-the-art telescopes and accessories as well as used and homemade instruments. Here you meet manufacturers and experienced amateur astronomers from all over Europe to share your thoughts with. Furthermore the ATT offers a platform for public presentation of observatories and astronomy clubs. In short, this is the place to be for anyone who is interested in astronomy. You will get plenty of ideas and inspirations for your hobby. Come and find out for yourself, and we are looking forward to meeting you at the ATT in Essen, Germany.

Moon

Picture of the Moon was taken without a tripod and normal settings. No editing was done at all. Great picture of my new Nikon A1000.

Sun H-Alpha Solarmax3

This morning, Observing the Sun in H-Alpha with SolarMax3 70/400 f/5.7 DS BF15 and pictures taken using Nikon D7500. Compared with yesterday morning, conditions were much better. The active region in the west is sunspot AR2741.

Moon 88%

Almost full moon (88%).

Sun H-Alpha with SolarMax3

Again a cloudness day, the second in a row. Time to capture the Sun in H-Alpha with my SolarMax 3 70/400 f/5.7 and ZWO ASI224MC. A the surface of the Sun their is s.one bright active area, AR2741 and a less active one AR2740. Connecting the scope with the ZWO camera requires a PC. During daytime with the Sun high in the sky the contrast on the screen is very difficult. I have not yet found any solutions but still some great results. AVI files are stacked using AutoStakker!2 and final editing with CS4.

Lecture by Stijn Ilsen

Together with two Helios members I attended a lecture on spacemissions past, current and future. The lecture was given by engineer Stijn Ilsen in Herselt.
Very professional presentation and well presented with some humor.

Race to the Moon

Pascal Hilkens (l) - Koen Geukens (r)

Attending a lexture by Koen Geukens on the new race to the Moon. The lecture started with a short history of the first man on the Moon, 50 years ago with a lot of nice details.
The new race to the moon is a next step to explore Mars and beyond. The journey is difficult due to politics, budget and even scientists discussing the best approach.
It's not sure if we will have a new step on the Moon before 2024!