After a long time of doing nothing because of the weather now again a clear night has announced itself – as in winter so often also a bitterly cold night. Nevertheless, Patrick and I did not want to miss the short opportunity between all the gray to be astronomically active again. We photographed the Pleiades and the Orion Nebula, unfortunately it was a bit too optimistic to photograph a reflection nebula at half moon, so only the Orion image is presentable.
At temperatures down to -8.5°C one learns very fast the advantages of an observatory. Reliable power supply, all necessary equipment, a fast network, and a heated conference room from which one can control and monitor the telescopes and cameras via the network are worth their weight in gold. In such weather, the heating sleeves are also indispensable. It is clearly shown on the picture that everything is frozen except the two lens telescopes through which the photos were taken. With such equipment one can also use the clear winter nights with often very good atmospheric conditions without freezing to an ice block. How cold it really is, becomes noticeable when dismantling – when one begins to freeze on to the telescopes.
Potos: Simon Gier & Patrick Staden, Text: Simon Gier
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