Christian Vocks
@cvocks.bsky.social
Physicist, solar radio astronomy and space plasma theory & simulation, from Lingen in NW Germany, interests in astrophotography, sci-fi, running.
Open clusters M35 and NGC2158 in Gemini, from 3 March 2025. 59 exposures of 30 s in R, 57 in G, and 51 in L. I'm still working on my backlog from last year...
January 8, 2026 at 8:47 PM
Open clusters M35 and NGC2158 in Gemini, from 3 March 2025. 59 exposures of 30 s in R, 57 in G, and 51 in L. I'm still working on my backlog from last year...
Saturn on 6 November 2025. Earth is now near Saturn's ring plane, we see the edge of the ring system and the shadow of the rings on the planet. Just left of Saturn the moon Titan is visible.
November 16, 2025 at 8:06 PM
Saturn on 6 November 2025. Earth is now near Saturn's ring plane, we see the edge of the ring system and the shadow of the rings on the planet. Just left of Saturn the moon Titan is visible.
A single image looks like this. One can see the constellations Corona Borealis, Bootes, Canes Venatici, the rear part of Ursa Major, and faintly also the comet.
November 5, 2025 at 8:47 PM
A single image looks like this. One can see the constellations Corona Borealis, Bootes, Canes Venatici, the rear part of Ursa Major, and faintly also the comet.
Comet C2025 A6 Lemmon, observed on 18 October 2025 from the water tower in Beelitz near Potsdam. I've stacked 20 exposures of 13 s with Nikon D5600 and Tamron 16-300 mm at 22 mm, ISO1600, and f/3.5, on a tripod without tracking.
November 5, 2025 at 8:46 PM
Comet C2025 A6 Lemmon, observed on 18 October 2025 from the water tower in Beelitz near Potsdam. I've stacked 20 exposures of 13 s with Nikon D5600 and Tamron 16-300 mm at 22 mm, ISO1600, and f/3.5, on a tripod without tracking.
My next object from last winter, the Flaming Star Nebula IC405 in Auriga from 23 February 2025. The bright star is AE Aurigae. 78 exposures of 60 s in L, plus 14 in R, 20 in G, 22 in B, plus 52 in H alpha since the object is a combined reflection and emission nebula.
October 12, 2025 at 3:52 PM
My next object from last winter, the Flaming Star Nebula IC405 in Auriga from 23 February 2025. The bright star is AE Aurigae. 78 exposures of 60 s in L, plus 14 in R, 20 in G, 22 in B, plus 52 in H alpha since the object is a combined reflection and emission nebula.
Finished the Berlin Marathon in 4:49:33 h! That was pretty slow, 37 min more than last year. But the weather conditions were challenging, high temperatures around 25°C and a lot of Sun, plus high humidity.
September 21, 2025 at 6:00 PM
Finished the Berlin Marathon in 4:49:33 h! That was pretty slow, 37 min more than last year. But the weather conditions were challenging, high temperatures around 25°C and a lot of Sun, plus high humidity.
Getting ready for tomorrow!
September 20, 2025 at 5:22 PM
Getting ready for tomorrow!
Some frames are a bit blurred, probably due to vibrations of the tower. At the end of the partial phase of the eclipse the penumbral eclipse is still going on: A partial solar eclipse as seen from the moon, and more of the Sun is blocked in the western (right) side of the moon, which appears darker.
September 8, 2025 at 5:49 PM
Some frames are a bit blurred, probably due to vibrations of the tower. At the end of the partial phase of the eclipse the penumbral eclipse is still going on: A partial solar eclipse as seen from the moon, and more of the Sun is blocked in the western (right) side of the moon, which appears darker.
Time-lapse video of the lunar eclipse from 7 September 2025, observed from the old water tower in Beelitz south of Potsdam. Nikon D5600 with Tamron 16-300 mm, mostly 0.5s with ISO2000. I used a tripod without guiding, so I had to write a python script to center the moon, even in bright twilight sky.
September 8, 2025 at 5:48 PM
Time-lapse video of the lunar eclipse from 7 September 2025, observed from the old water tower in Beelitz south of Potsdam. Nikon D5600 with Tamron 16-300 mm, mostly 0.5s with ISO2000. I used a tripod without guiding, so I had to write a python script to center the moon, even in bright twilight sky.
Reposted by Christian Vocks
The #sun hurls electrons out into space almost as fast as light. A team from the AIP has used the @esa.int #SolarOrbiter mission to track their precise origins for the first time and create a comprehensive catalogue of high-energy electron events. 🛰️📊👩💻
www.aip.de/de/news/sola...
www.aip.de/de/news/sola...
September 1, 2025 at 8:04 AM
The #sun hurls electrons out into space almost as fast as light. A team from the AIP has used the @esa.int #SolarOrbiter mission to track their precise origins for the first time and create a comprehensive catalogue of high-energy electron events. 🛰️📊👩💻
www.aip.de/de/news/sola...
www.aip.de/de/news/sola...
My previous picture was the Fly Nebula (NGC 1931) in Auriga, but the fly shoudln't feel too safe: In the neighborhood is the Spider Nebula (IC 417), from 18 February 2025. 74 exposures of 60 s in H alpha, 57 in OIII, 53 in SII, plus 37 ones of 30 s in R, 34 in G, and 33 in B for natural star colors.
July 31, 2025 at 7:18 PM
My previous picture was the Fly Nebula (NGC 1931) in Auriga, but the fly shoudln't feel too safe: In the neighborhood is the Spider Nebula (IC 417), from 18 February 2025. 74 exposures of 60 s in H alpha, 57 in OIII, 53 in SII, plus 37 ones of 30 s in R, 34 in G, and 33 in B for natural star colors.
My next picture from last winter, the Fly Nebula (NGC 1931) in Auriga from 17 February 2025. It is a reflection and emission nebula, therefore I've combined 88 exposures of 60 s in L, 30 in R, 30 in G, 24 in B, with 41 ones in H alpha.
July 23, 2025 at 7:52 PM
My next picture from last winter, the Fly Nebula (NGC 1931) in Auriga from 17 February 2025. It is a reflection and emission nebula, therefore I've combined 88 exposures of 60 s in L, 30 in R, 30 in G, 24 in B, with 41 ones in H alpha.
My first deep-sky image of 2025, the Flame Nebula in Orion from 16 February. 70 exposures of 60 s in Halpha, 52 in OIII, and 43 in SII, plus 20 of 30 s each in R, G, B. The bright star to the right is Alnitak.
July 10, 2025 at 7:54 PM
My first deep-sky image of 2025, the Flame Nebula in Orion from 16 February. 70 exposures of 60 s in Halpha, 52 in OIII, and 43 in SII, plus 20 of 30 s each in R, G, B. The bright star to the right is Alnitak.
My last object from last year, the "Deer Lick Group" with NGC7331 in Pegasus from 1 December 2024. Since clouds came in during observation, I only got 135 exposures of 60 s in L.
June 23, 2025 at 6:52 PM
My last object from last year, the "Deer Lick Group" with NGC7331 in Pegasus from 1 December 2024. Since clouds came in during observation, I only got 135 exposures of 60 s in L.
Finished the Potsdamer Schlösserlauf half marathon in 1:54:57 h! That's 7 min slower than last year, but in hot summer weather. So the time is still fine. As always, a very scenic route through the parks, passing many of the castles in Potsdam.
June 15, 2025 at 9:59 AM
Finished the Potsdamer Schlösserlauf half marathon in 1:54:57 h! That's 7 min slower than last year, but in hot summer weather. So the time is still fine. As always, a very scenic route through the parks, passing many of the castles in Potsdam.
My first attempt of combining exposures from different evenings into one image: Stephan's Quintett from 25 October 2024 (L:161x60s, R:30, G:28, B:30) plus 164 in L from 2 November. So a total of 325 min in L. Celestron C8 with f/6.3 focal reducer and ZWO ASI 294MM Pro, from my balcony in Potsdam.
May 26, 2025 at 7:39 PM
My first attempt of combining exposures from different evenings into one image: Stephan's Quintett from 25 October 2024 (L:161x60s, R:30, G:28, B:30) plus 164 in L from 2 November. So a total of 325 min in L. Celestron C8 with f/6.3 focal reducer and ZWO ASI 294MM Pro, from my balcony in Potsdam.
Another object from last year, the North America Nebula NGC7000 from 11 October 2024. 73 exposures of 60s in Halpha, 47 in OIII, and 42 in SII, plus each 15 of 20s in R, G, B. Sigma 135-400 mm telephoto lens at 150 mm, and ZWO ASI 294MM Pro. Improved contrast with some unsharp masking.
May 8, 2025 at 7:44 PM
Another object from last year, the North America Nebula NGC7000 from 11 October 2024. 73 exposures of 60s in Halpha, 47 in OIII, and 42 in SII, plus each 15 of 20s in R, G, B. Sigma 135-400 mm telephoto lens at 150 mm, and ZWO ASI 294MM Pro. Improved contrast with some unsharp masking.
Finished the rbb-Lauf 1/3 marathon through Potsdam in 1:10:39 h. That's 15 s faster than last year! Weather was perfect, sunny and cool.
April 27, 2025 at 9:50 AM
Finished the rbb-Lauf 1/3 marathon through Potsdam in 1:10:39 h. That's 15 s faster than last year! Weather was perfect, sunny and cool.
My next object from last year, the Bat Nebula (NGC6995) in Cygnus from 5 September 2024. The Bat Nebula is part of the Veil Nebula, a large supernova remnant. 86 exposures of 60 s in Halpha, 50 in OIII, and 43 in SII, plus 40 each in R, G, B of 30 s.
April 16, 2025 at 7:20 PM
My next object from last year, the Bat Nebula (NGC6995) in Cygnus from 5 September 2024. The Bat Nebula is part of the Veil Nebula, a large supernova remnant. 86 exposures of 60 s in Halpha, 50 in OIII, and 43 in SII, plus 40 each in R, G, B of 30 s.
Working on my backlog of observations: Crescent Nebula (NGC6888) in Cygnus from 4 September 2024. 84 exposures of 60 s in Halpha, 58 in OIII, and 55 in SII. I've added some RGB data for more natural star colors. Celestron C8 with f/6.3 focal reducer and ZWO ASI 294MM Pro, from my balcony in Potsdam.
March 25, 2025 at 8:28 PM
Working on my backlog of observations: Crescent Nebula (NGC6888) in Cygnus from 4 September 2024. 84 exposures of 60 s in Halpha, 58 in OIII, and 55 in SII. I've added some RGB data for more natural star colors. Celestron C8 with f/6.3 focal reducer and ZWO ASI 294MM Pro, from my balcony in Potsdam.
Venus on the way to its inferior conjunction on 23 March. On that day, it passes the Sun and changes from the evening to the morning sky. This is also the closest distance to Earth, so the planet appears increasingly bigger, and as a thinner crescent since we see more of its night side.
March 4, 2025 at 9:10 PM
Venus on the way to its inferior conjunction on 23 March. On that day, it passes the Sun and changes from the evening to the morning sky. This is also the closest distance to Earth, so the planet appears increasingly bigger, and as a thinner crescent since we see more of its night side.