In the dead of night when most people are fast asleep, Simon Schaible sets up his 33-pound telescope equipment on his balcony, precisely aligned with the North Star. Hours later, this dedicated astrophotographer from Kirchheim produces stunning images of galaxies, nebulae, and the Milky Way. The 38-year-old has found his passion in astrophotography, spending dozens of hours collecting shots for a single photograph and countless additional hours processing them on his computer.
Schaible's journey into astrophotography began unexpectedly in 2018. Originally focused on automotive and motorcycle photography since he started taking pictures, he noticed something intriguing in one of his shots. The starry sky was visible in the background, and what appeared as a blurry, cosmic element caught his attention. After researching, Schaible realized he had accidentally captured the Milky Way. Within days, he deliberately ventured out to photograph it again, and he hasn't stopped since.
'I was fascinated from the very beginning by this glimpse into space,' Schaible explains. 'When I saw the Andromeda Galaxy for the first time, I realized how enormous it is and that it stands in the sky every night.' The Andromeda Galaxy, the nearest large neighbor to the Milky Way, is barely visible to the naked eye as a faint dark patch. This experience ignited everything that followed in his astronomical photography journey.
Today, Schaible works with two Newton reflecting telescopes equipped with specialized cameras that are even cooled to keep the images sharp and prevent interference from disruptive noise. 'It's luxury, but getting to this point has been a long learning process,' explains the trained locksmith. He taught himself everything through forums and platforms like Astrobin, which he describes as 'basically like Facebook, but for astrophotographers.'
The process is incredibly demanding and technical. First, Schaible aligns his telescope with the North Star, which serves as an orientation point because it sits almost directly above the Earth's rotational axis. This allows the equipment to compensate for Earth's rotation and hold the sky section steady for hours. Software then locates the desired object in the sky, while a second camera ensures the stars remain sharp and don't blur into streaks.
The system then takes hundreds of individual exposures, typically five minutes each. The camera must collect light for this duration to make faint stellar objects like galaxies or nebulae visible at all. Often, up to 400 photos remain at the end, which Schaible combines into a single image on his computer. This requires many additional hours and multiple programs for post-processing. For one image, up to 35 hours of exposures can accumulate, plus around 15 hours of post-processing work.
The challenges are numerous and varied. 'There are many sources of error: aircraft, technical problems, damaged data files,' Schaible notes. 'A friend once told me: Astrophotography is a rocky road, and you can be sure that you'll stumble over every single stone,' he says with a laugh. Despite the technical demands, it's far from a glamorous lifestyle but rather a hobby requiring dedication, as Schaible describes the many sleepless nights spent pursuing his passion.
Schaible often photographs directly from his balcony in Kirchheim, even though any movement there can blur the image. Previously, he enjoyed sitting alone on mountains with his camera, appreciating the tranquility. Even today, deep-sky photography frequently draws him outdoors, for example to the star park in Haigerloch. Together with other dedicated astrophotographers, he has formed a WhatsApp group and meets at locations as far as possible from artificial light.
Light pollution is a topic that particularly concerns him. 'It's a shame that hardly anyone talks about it,' Schaible says. 'Everyone talks about environmental pollution, but light pollution is often forgotten.' This environmental concern adds another dimension to his hobby, as he seeks darker skies for better astronomical photography.
The scope of this hobby becomes clear when Schaible discusses his daily routine. 'It's not a glamorous life, but rather a hobby obsession,' he says about the many consecutive nights without sleep. Nevertheless, the fascination always draws him back outside. Through his work, he's learning to know the starry sky intimately, from summer nebulae to the Orion Nebula. However, his dream lies far from the region: Namibia, without light pollution, wide and vast.
People's reactions to his images vary widely. Many are fascinated, while others don't believe such photographs are actually possible. 'Some people don't even believe it's real,' Schaible reflects on the responses to his captures of galaxies and nebulae. More of Simon Schaible's work can be seen on Facebook (Simon Schaible – Astrophotography), on Instagram (space_explorer_sw_), and on the platform Astrobin (Simon Schaible).
