ASIWEEK #31/2025 Winner – Interview with Konstantinos Beis

Beginnings in Astrophotography

Konstantinos Beis has always been fascinated by the night sky. After moving to a rural area in 2017, where the Milky Way was clearly visible, his passion for astronomy ignited. He acquired his first telescope, an 8”Dobsonian, and since then, he has taken every opportunity to observe and image the cosmos. He began imaging planets in 2022 and started with deep-sky objects (DSOs) in 2024 after upgrading to a motorised Dobsonian.

His journey was shaped by excellent planetary imagers he met on an astronomy forum. “I was inspired by excellent planetary imagers on an astronomy forum, who later became my mentors. Their advice and support were invaluable in helping me improve my processing techniques. Through this, I’ve learned that a second pair of eyes is crucial in astrophotography for identifying flaws and refining the final image.”

Equipment and Setup

Konstantinos’s current setup consists of a Sky-Watcher Skyliner 300P (12”) FlexTube GOTO telescope, paired with the ZWO ASI462MM and ASI585MC cameras. He also uses a variety of filters for planetary imaging, a ZWO ADC, and several barlows.

He usually captures his images from his back garden, which offers nearly 360 degrees of unobstructed view. “I live in a rural place with low light pollution that helps tremendously with my DSO captures. Under excellent transparency the Milky Way is bright and with loads of structure to it.” “I do not have the need to travel due to my very good skies, although a session under Bortle 1 or 2 skies would be an excellent experience, but moving the 12″Dob would not be as straight forward.”

Early Experiences

His very first ‘astrophoto’was the International Space Station (ISS), captured with a DSLR and a standard lens. But it was Jupiter that truly hooked him on imaging using his 8″ Dobsonian. “My ISS has really improved since I started 5 years ago.”

ISS captured with a Sky-Watcher Skyliner 300P FlexTube GOTO, asi 462mm, IR pass filter and 3x barlow.

Jupiter with a Sky-Watcher Skyliner 300P FlexTube GOTO, asi 585mc, UV/IR cut filter, 3x barlow and ZWO ADC.

Seeing his first image of the cosmos was unforgettable: “It felt unreal to have an image that I captured from my back garden. It is amazing to think that we can capture detailed images of planets and DSOs with amateur equipment.”

Passion and Community

For Konstantinos, astrophotography is not just about the images but also the experience. “I really enjoy the tranquility and being out while imaging. I also enjoy the process of trying to bring subtle details from my planetary images. I have met like-minded people with the same passion for planetary imaging and it is great for support and banter on cloudy nights.”

Every astrophotographer faces challenges, and for Konstantinos, the Jetstream in the UK is the biggest obstacle. “The main challenge for planetary imaging is the Jetstream in the UK that can cause havoc even if transparency looks excellent. When seeing is not great, I tend to do some DSO imaging. The frequent cloudy nights do not help either. Under excellent seeing, we can get nice details on planets like my winning Neptune image.”

Neptune and Triton. Sky-Watcher Skyliner 300P FlexTube GOTO, asi 585mc for the colour with UV/IR cut filter, and asi462mm with IR pass filter for the details, x3 barlow and ZWO ADC.

M16 and M106 captured with a Sky-Watcher Skyliner 300P FlexTube GOTO, asi 585mc, UV/IR cut filter. Around 1 hr integration each.

He takes setbacks in stride: “The night sky will be there night after night, so it does not bother me if I miss an imaging session, unless there is a special or rare event.”

Among his proudest achievements is capturing the Venusian clouds with a manual 8″Dobsonian, which earned him his first ZWO ASI Image of the Week back in 2023. “I still find Venus fascinating as the clouds are very dynamic.”

Venus clouds through its phases in false colour. Captured with a Sky-Watcher Skyliner 300P FlexTube GOTO, asi 462mm, UV and IR pass filters, 3x barlow and ZWO ADC.

He is strongly drawn to planetary imaging. “I am very much attracted to planetary imaging and trying to push the barrier of what I can get with my setup. Besides Venus, Jupiter and Mars excite me due to their different features. Similarly, Uranus and Neptune have activity that under excellent seeing can be revealed.” “I am drawn to planetary imaging as due to their rotation, they reveal different features from night to night. I am fascinated by their dynamic weather events, storms and clouds, and the excitement of seeing an unexpected feature (eg clouds and storms on Mars).”

Venus clouds in false colour. Captured with a Sky-Watcher Skyliner 300P FlexTube GOTO, asi 462mm, UV and IR pass filters, 3x barlow and ZWO ADC.

Mars and clouds. Captured with a Sky-Watcher Skyliner 300P FlexTube GOTO, asi 585mc, UV/IR cut filter, 3x barlow and ZWO ADC.

Future Goals and Advice

As the planetary season begins again, Konstantinos has set himself an ambitious project: “The project that I have in mind is to obtain enough high quality images to assemble a map of Mars and Jupiter.”

For beginners, he offers this advice: “Perseverance and being open to advice and criticism. We all started somewhere with suboptimal images but belonging to forums that provide constructive feedback and criticism is going to help tremendously. It is crucial to learn the limitations of your equipment and push them to their limit and not to be afraid to experiment.”