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Contact information
e-mail
stefan@astromeeting.de
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website
http://www.astromeeting.de
.
Locator
Map
http://www.frappr.com/apppublic
Level of accuracy: City of Stuttgart,
Germany
Biography/Philosophy
The incomparable experience to observe a dark, starlit night sky without
any visual aids, is one of the most beautiful experiences of my life. To
sense the beloved earth underneath the feet, to capture the vastness of
the universe above the head: this puts your mind at rest.
To watch the slow but steady course of the stars, to follow their rise and
setting, to notice their colors and scintillations, to experience the
precise movements of the planets around the sun, all of this compensates
for our hectic 'modern' industrial society, and shows that one is part of
nature's magnificence.
My enthusiasm for the activities and objects of the cosmos dates back to
my early adolescence. Driven
by my innate desire to capture beauty in
images (I am also a fine art photographer and run my own photography
website at:
http://www.photomeeting.de) it was only natural to combine these two
hobbies.
It is only today - decades later - that I am starting to
grasp what I got
myself into.
Although, I still enjoy visual astronomy, astrophotography has gained the
upper-hand and requires my full commitment. Had I foreseen what amount of
time, perseverance, technology, know-how and - in the end - money would be
necessary in order to produce first-class images; I would have had second
thoughts about it - only to pursue the same path again!
Amateur astronomy in general and astrophotography in particular always
create new challenges. Success and failure lie closely together, luck and
skill go hand in hand, disappointment and fulfillment are only seconds or
a tiny movement apart. Astrophotography grants you unforgettable hours
under the night sky; it allows you to produce aesthetically rewarding and
lasting
results. Astrophotography is a love-match between physics, photography,
art and (digital) image processing. It is .. exciting!
I confess that I want to create 'pretty pictures'. The scientific value of
my images is of secondary importance, although, I always try to convey a
very realistic and naturalistic impressions of my subjects. You will not
find any photomontages, 'digital art' or knowingly manipulated images on
my website. In my astrophotography I am striving for reality and
authenticity. In a way as an extension of the optic nerve. Since
astrophotography renders forms, structures and colors that
the human eye can never perceive.
I am currently living in Stuttgart (Southern Germany), where I am working
as an IT consultant
and science writer. Unfortunately the weather conditions here in Stuttgart
are less than favorable.
A clear night sky is the exception, fair weather periods that last a few
days are rare, even in summer.
In addition, light pollution is quite
significant. The visual limiting magnitude is 4.5 mag with usually bad
seeing. All of this means, that I need to travel with my equipment to
either the Black Forest or the
Swabian Alb (both nearby) if I want to
produce excellent images.
I have owned and used a number of different telescopes over the years
until I finally discovered my love for apochromatic refractors. The
versatility and efficiency of these devices fascinates me time and again.
They not only allow rich-field oberservations and highest enlargements but
also CCD imaging.
Thanks to the modern CCD camera the CCD photography as practiced by
amateur astronomers
has shown a tremendous increase in quality. Today quite a few amateurs
produce images that twenty years ago a large professional observatory
would have been proud of. Without mentioning any names: these are my
models. Some of the photographs that I watched full of amazement and
admiration as a child, I can now produce myself (or at times even surpass
them) by using a modern 6" telescope with the latest technology. What
could be more fascinating?
Areas of interest
Public Speaking, Multimedia
Presentations, CCD imagery, Photography, Image Processing,
Article/Book
writing, Traveling
Astrophotography publications
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Magazine Articles
Astronomie Heute
Interstellarum,
Sterne und Weltraum
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Magazine
Images
Amateur Astronomer, Astronomy Now, Ciel et Espace,
New Zealand Geographic,
Illustreret Videnskab, NightSky,
SkyNews, Sky & Telescope,
Star Observer,
Tähdet ja avaruus (Finnland), Temmon Guide
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Books
Author of: Astrofotografie digital, Kosmos (Franckh-Kosmos), German
language, ISBN: 3440104265.
Contributed images to: Beautiful Universe 2005+2006
Edition and What´s Out
There
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Calendars
Celestial Wonders 2006, Sky Publishing
Himmel und Erde 2006
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Internet
APOD
(NASA 's Astronomy Picture of the Day), several images
Spaceweather, title page, several images
Image of the Day (AstroMart), sveral images
Roland Christen's (CEO Astro-Physics, Inc) CCD Images & Essays on Optics
Santa Barbara Instrument Group: Image Of The Month, July 2004
Sky & Telescope Online, 'Sky at a Glance', Jan 7-15, 2005
ESO 'Deep Impact', Title Page, July 2005
ESO VT-Photo of the Day and VT-Gallery
Featured Astrophotographer' (Utah Skies)
Yahoo!Picks Sep 29, 2004
Space.com
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Television
ARD,
1st German Television channel, several images
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Others
Images
for some CD covers
Front cover Roger Tayler Memorial Lectures, 2005
Italian Scientific Newton, Aug 2005
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Observing sites
Remote:
Black
Forest or the Swabian Alb
Astronomical Equipment
Telescopes
Astro-Physics
10" f/14.6
Maksutov Cassegrain Reflector
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Astro-Physics 155mm f/7
StarFire EDFS Triplet Apochromatic Refractor
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Astro-Physics 105mm f/6
Traveler EDF Triplet Apochromatic Refractor
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Unitron 75mm f/16 Achromatic Refractor
Mounts
Astro-Physics
900 QMD
.Astro-Physics 400 CNC
Cameras
SBIG
STL-11000M
Canon EOS 5D Digital SLR
Firewire Videocamera DMK 21BF04
SBIG ST-4 Autoguider
Philips ToUCam 740K WebCam
Coronado SolarMax 90 / BF 30 (Solar Filter)
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