Erla’s father had bequeathed her a 102 mm/1000 mm Refractor by Bresser, complete with tripod, mount and so on. After the individual components had finally reached us at our place of residence, last year, we had taken stock and found to our consternation that the mounting brackets were missing. The bits fastening the tube to…

Clear weather has been predicted. And there is a comet in the sky, at magnitude 0.6. Which is pretty bright as such things go. Weeks ago, Olli of the Observatory suggested a certain spot in a small city park opposite the island the historical inner city is built on, on the banks of the Wakenitz,…

After Astrokat had teased me with her picture of the moon recently, I could finally retaliate today during a break between the clouds…

Weather in northern Germany is still a catastrophe for any attempt at astronomical observations, so AstroKat teases me with a seeing of 6+ where she lives. At least she sends me a picture of the moon…Meanwhile, some work with Starry Night has established that comet Pan-STARRS C/2011 L4 will be visible near my home around nightfall,…

Currently lacking in general mobility and while I’m still suffering from nose-and-throat disease, astronomy nevertheless does not remain unattempted. Since there is little else I can do (in part due to the weather conditions), I can at least use my old, cheap refractor to stare at the sun and count spots; the new, full-aperture sun…

After a few chores in the morning, I’m off to the Aschberg Frühjahrs Teleskoptreffen. My new car enables me to actually carry my new equipment; my old Daihatsu Mira would not have had the space. To pack: telescope with accessories, tent, camping equipment for three days, lots of warm clothes, photography equipment. Everything goes in…

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