Welcome to this site!

I have been observing the starry sky with binoculars and telescopes for over 40 years. Back when I first started observing, the famous Halley's Comet appeared in the autumn sky of 1985. Since then, the number of comets I have seen has grown to 60. You're just a night owl -in Southern Germany it's  Nachgrabb- that’s what people used to call me when I went to outback with my telescope in the evening. That name became the inspiration for this domain and a 16-inch Dobsonian telescope.

You will find reports of numerous sky gazing sessions, as well as reports on visits to star parties, trips to dark-sky locations, and expeditions to total solar eclipses all over the globe.

Here you can learn interesting facts about the telescopes—past and present—that I have used. Most of them were homemade.

A highlight is a joint project launched in 1990 by seven amateur astronomers from Backnang:

The 30-inch f/4 telescope that has been in operation since the autumn of 1993. The project is funded and maintained through small monthly contributions from the owners, supplemented by an initial, generous grant received in 1992 from the Foundation for the Promotion of Youth in Baden-Württemberg. 

In the early 1990s, our 30-inch Dobsonian was the largest portable amateur telescope in Europe.

Back then, Reiner, Norbert, and Peter did pioneering work in the design and construction of this telescope. There were no options for information exchange like there are today; everything was designed in-house and built to be little more stable.

In 2007,Michael ,Mike and I completely make a new 30-inch telescope. Creating an optimized, lighter version. We were able to incorporate the experience  from 13 years of operating a large telescope, as well as insights from fellow astronomy enthusiasts via the "Astrotreff" forum, into the new design.

Without the help of my friends, many things would not have been possible! I am very grateful for that.

I have taken my telescopes up to mountains in the European Alps, to Mount Hum on the Croatian island of Lastovo, to the Roque de los Muchachos on the Canary Island of La Palma, to the desert and Atlantic coast of Morocco, to Mount Emei Shan in China’s Sichuan province, and under the southern sky in Chile’s Atacama Desert. Whenever I went on holidays, one of my telescopes often finds place in my car or travels with me as carry-on luggage on the plane.

Unfortunately, here in the Swabian country, we find seldom places to gaze at the stars undisturbed. Formerly good observation spots are being severely compromised by the increasing nighttime illumination of corporate buildings in industrial parks. Sadly, it has also become fashionable to light up gardens with solar lamps at night.

Installing motion detectors at house on corners and entrances triggering bright spots when animals pass by; farmers driving their tractors across open fields at night with bright headlights on. All these lights severely disrupt us stargazers because our eyes are unable to adapt to the darkness.

Since November 2011, there has been an interest group in Baden-Württemberg dedicated to protecting the natural night sky. You can find the link to the "Swabian Alb Dark Sky Park" project on the title page of the section "Travel to Dark-Sky Locations." There is also plenty to see and discover on the title pages of the other chapters.

Star Partys for sociable stargazing and the exchange of ideas among enthusiasts are held at various locations, usually in the autumn. In the early evening, one can see the summer sky extending as far as Sagittarius, while towards morning, the winter sky—featuring the constellation Orion—comes into view. Since 1986, I have frequently visited Star Partys in Carinthia; since 2008, visited the HTT in Brandenburg, and more recently, events in the Hunsrück region as well.

For a few days, it’s a chance to fully immerse myself in the hobby. On this website, you will find photos and reports from events I have visited since 1986.

On the "Links to Friends" page, you will find links to websites of the "Backnanger Sterngucker" (Backnang Stargazers). Since 1985, there has been an group of amateur astronomers in the small town of Backnang who meet regularly for social gatherings—and, weather permitting, some of them to observe the  night sky.

Electrical engineer Karl-Reiner ten Hoevel and high school teacher Ewald Müller were among the founding members of Backnang’s amateur astronomy community back in 1983. Ewald organized astronomy courses at the adult education center and for his students at the Max-Born-Gymnasium in Backnang, while Reiner contributed to the practical sessions with his 8 Inch Schmidt-Cassegrain telescope. An adapter plate for Reiner’s Celestron 8 telescope was installed on the old water tower at Maubacher Hill.

When the number of stargazers grew to seven in 1990, we moved our gatherings from our living rooms to a local pub. That is how our monthly get-togethers came about. There, we discuss joint projects, exchange experiences, and friendship.

We held our 400th regular meeting in December 2025! :-)

 Backnang Stargazers, have been volunteering for the Backnang and Oppenweiler holiday programs since 1991. When the weather is good, we offer stargazing tours for children accompanied by their parents or grandparents. If weather and our schedules permitting, we also organize Stargazing tours for groups and clubs.

On August 11, 1999, we hosted a major event in the City of Backnang—in collaboration with the city—to observe the total solar eclipse, and over 5,000 guests attended. Unfortunately, the weather did not allow us to see the totality eclipsed sun in Backnang. Our fellow stargazer Michael Dorn was luckier; not far away, in vineyards some miles away, he was able to catch glimpses of the total solar eclipse and make pictures of it.

Since then, stargazers from Backnang have traveled to total solar eclipses in Turkey (2006), China (2009), Australia (2012), Chile (2019), and Mexico and the USA (2024). After a long interval, total solar eclipses will once again be visible on the European continent in 2026 and 2027, and stargazers from Backnang will travel to these locations as well.

I also wish to remember here the people who became my friends while I pursued this wonderful hobby but who are, sadly, no longer with us. A page is dedicated to the memory of each of them.

"Legendary Stargazers" tells the stories of people who have particularly impressed and inspired me as a stargazer and telescope maker. I had the privilege of meeting one of them—John Dobson, the grand old man of stargazing—in person during his visit to Germany in 2006.

In the spring of 1987, during a visit to the observatory in Wertheim, we had the opportunity to see the work of the amateur astronomer Johann Kern—a 24-inch Newtonian telescope—in action. His legacy made a deep impression on us and left its mark in Backnang; it served as a model for our own big telescope project.

The "Even More Hobbies" section shows some of my other interests: riding motorcycle, searching  mushrooms in the forest, tending to our garden by the vineyard, archery, and crafting my own primitive bows. You will also find links there to the "Bogenland" 3D archery course in Birkmannsweiler, bowman Uli Becker in Deggingen, and the "OGV Oberbrüden" (Fruit and Horticulture Association)—the "coolest" club in Auenwald, of which I have been a member since 2022.

Yours, Gerd Huissel