A brief review of Global Astronomy Month 2025 in Linz and some pictures from my trip through Greece this year with my "AWB campervan," which included several observatories along the way. Finally, I'd also like to share a very current tip about an international Greek observatory project for enthusiastic astrophotographers – called the "Hellas Sky Project," in which an Austrian friend and internationally renowned amateur astronomer and astrophotographer is playing a leading role.
The reason I'm only now looking back on GAM2025 is that I left for my trip to Greece right at the end of April, and I simply haven't had time to report on it yet ;-)
Of course, we reported on the global project again this year and promoted our wonderful hobby of astronomy. Advertising for our local observatory and the international community of astronomers, both professional and amateur.
We held a star party with lunar and planetary observations on Linz's main square. Of course, Sunday was a must this year, and we showed the sun in white light and H-alpha to interested passersby. Sidewalk astronomy is always well received, and this year was no exception :-) .... following some images of GAM2025 in my hometown.
On my trip following Global Astronomy Month, the focus this year was on sightseeing rather than visiting astronomers. Unfortunately, the astrocamp event hosted by our Kosovo NC Suhel Ahmeti didn't fit into my travel time window, otherwise I would have happily returned to Pristina.
For example, along my route, I visited the old Belgrade Observatory in the Star Grove – almost a "lost place," with everything surrounded by tall trees and almost overgrown.
I also photographed the Acropolis in Athens from the opposite hill where the old Athens Observatory is located.
In the south of the Peloponnese, I visited a modern observatory in a stunning mountain region: the private observatory Hellas-Sky.
The project is led, among other team members, by my Austrian astronomy friend Christoph Kaltseis.
Christoph Kalteis is also the "father" of CEDIC (Central European Digital Imaging Conference), which has been held regularly every two years in Linz since 2009. He first presented the Hellas Sky project publicly during CEDIC24 together with Ulf Backmeyer, the owner of the facility. In addition to his various photo projects.
Christoph has developed a novel image sharpening process called APF-R (Absolute Point of Focus) in recent years and has created several APODs (NASA Astronomy Picture of the Day) in his career as an astrophotographer.
The Hellas Sky project concept features a team of multinational experts dedicated to making high-quality astrophotography accessible to a wider public. A combination of high-quality, state-of-the-art hardware, as well as the team's experience and passion, at a unique location in Greece, offers first-class astrophotography at fair prices. Experienced astrophotographers will receive pre-calibrated, high-quality raw data for astrophotography, but newcomers also have a unique opportunity to quickly gain passion and professionalism by working on-site for a while. Here's the official link to the project website: https://hellas-sky.com - perhaps this will be of interest to some of you ;-)
My visit at Altomira, a wonderful deserted old mountain village where the Hellas-Sky Obervatory is located. There are ideal observing conditions away from any light pollution.
Best regards from Austria
Joe
#GAM2025