Advanced Astrophotography Topic - Uwe Meilling

Hello fellow stargazers, today we'd like to introduce you to astrophotographer Uwe Meilling.

Hello Uwe, how did you get into this hobby?

Hello everyone, my name is Uwe Meiling. I'm 52 years old.

I've been a huge Zeiss fan since my school days.

Background

It all started with a small plastic telescope about the size of a soda can. My first glimpse of the moon kept me up many nights. Since then, I've been hooked on astronomy forever.

...a little story from my school days...

My biggest dream was a bigger telescope, but as a schoolboy, I never had the money to buy one. I read a lot about building small telescopes and, at the age of 14, I planned to build my own. There was no way I could get a larger lens.

But sometimes I was a bad boy. After class, I would steal a large lens from the school projector.

I was scared stiff... But... I built my first telescope and was fascinated. And the crazy thing is, I won first prize at the school fair with it... hahaha

The opportunity of a lifetime

2011 was the year of my life... In the next town over, I was offered a dome with a 4.3-meter diameter and a Cassegrain telescope with a heavy-duty mount. Things really started to take off.

I learned a great deal about telescope construction, optics, and mechanics.

The moon and planets have captivated me ever since.

The future holds some exciting plans.

What equipment do you use?

My current setup:

My workhorse on a heavy-duty mount with a 200 kg payload capacity for the telescope.

Zeiss Cassegrain Telescope
400 mm aperture
Zerodur mirror material
EFL 6635 mm

Various 10" reflecting telescopes

Zwo ASI 178 mm
Zwo ASI 178 mc

IR-pass filters 642, 742, 800 nm
Baader UV
Baader Longpass RG 610

ADC-Gutekunst

Many thanks, Uwe Meiling

Regards, Karl and Rudi