31. January, 2024 - Reading time 3 min.

Hello out there!

This blog might feel like a profile kind of thing this time. So be aware, that´s something new here. Thanks goes to Anton Meijer for providing insights on his passion for the Universe. I am nowhere close to asses his work or his rig. That is neither my goal or ambition. Anton is a neuroradiologist and according to his words it´s not a coincidence he is interested in human mind, imaging and astrophotography combined.

I will throw in some details on his rig. Let´s just speak Anton for himself: “I use a relatively simple setup for astrophotography (no GoTo, no guiding, no computer) as I love to capture my space pictures on a simple gear and to learn by trial and error. And equally important, to enjoy and learn night sky by stargazing. For the latter, I also use my big scope (Skywatcher 200/1000 PDS Newtonian reflector)”.

My recent blog article was about Rosette Nebula but I could not resist and show the example of Anton picturing this incredibly inspiring Nebula. These are his words on the gear he used to make it: “These were captured on a relatively basic astrophotography setup, Skywatcher Evostar 72ED scope on a Eq5 mount. Polar alignment manually, no tracking and no filters. City backyard (Bortle 8).  DSLR Nikon 5500, ISO 3200. Short exposures (10s) stacked, around 40 minutes total exposure time.”

Anton´s insights on the Universe were promised in the opening of this article. I will wrap it up and use his own tagline:”Fascinated by astronomy and (artificial) intelligence. Chasing ‘The Big Picture’. Broadening of your horizons stirs the imagination!” I liked that one a lot. Specially that one about artificial-intelligence. It´s kind of tricky to even mention something like that in academic circles and I fully understand why he used this kind of let´s put it better in the brackets kind of formulation. My work is about assumptions related to life out there. This basically triggered my imagination immediately and here we are writing this article now!

Peter Von Hauerland, MA of Arts, Inspired by Universe

Wallpaper and pictures below: Anton Meijer, Nijmegen, Netherlands, X handle: @MeijerNijmegen

Rosette Nebula

Orion Nebula

Horse Head Nebula

Rig n.1: Skywatcher Evostar 72ED scope on a Eq5 mount

Rig n.2: Skywatcher 200/1000 PDS Newtonian reflector