On August 28, 2026, the Moon darkens to 93% — but the real highlight only arrives on the night of December 21, 2029. My research into how eclipses unfold, what makes them “good,” and why the best is yet to come.
Category: article
The purely technical side of my learning process in preparation for the total solar eclipse.
How much gear do you actually need for your first total solar eclipse when you don’t yet know how to photograph one?
A week-long father-son road trip from Koblenz to northern Spain to photograph the total solar eclipse on August 12, 2026. From the search for the right spot to three independent local contacts and a nerve-wracking final hour before totality – the first part of a blog series about planning, detours, and the moment itself.
Browse the Astrocamp deep-sky catalog: galaxies, nebulae and star clusters, object data and visibility info – by Messier, Sharpless, Caldwell and more.
The Berlebach Uni 18 is my tripod of choice for the WarpAstron WD-20P – an overview of the selection criteria, the configuration with three-angle spread, ZWO plate and extension pier, and the reasons why a lightweight carbon tripod is not a sensible choice for harmonic drive mounts.
Query astronomical databases like SIMBAD, NED, VizieR and MAST directly – coordinates, magnitudes and object data in one place.
StellarMate OS keeps showing a notification that a new PHD2 version is available – but what’s actually behind it? I dug in, worked through terminal output and apt packages, and finally dissected the package itself. The result is surprising.
Plan your observing night: find out when galaxies, nebulae and star clusters are best placed in the sky from your location.
Sometimes the best outings happen almost by accident. That is how it was on the day I picked up my son from the Albert Einstein Science Park in Potsdam after the finals of the Geo-Olympiade — and we spontaneously decided to explore the grounds together on foot. What was meant to be a relaxed walk turned into a small journey through 150 years of scientific history.