Yet another year came to an end. I am a little late as it is already mid-January, but I would still like to review 2020: it is time to look back and ponder. For us astrophotographers it is a good opportunity to look back and see how has the hobby production evolved in the year. Have any new techniques been incorporated into the workflow? Any new gear? Any new workarounds, “fiddlings” and solutions? What have we accomplished and what have we learnt? And, what about the end results - the images themselves? They are, however, at least for me, far from being the unique ultimate goal: it’s much more about the process than just pretty pictures. The knowledge, wonder, friendships, discovery... that is what astroimaging is all about.

2020 was an extremely difficult year. As the global pandemic evolved, far too many lost their loved ones. The healthcare system was, and still is, pushed to its limits. Many activities were halted, work and study were mostly necessarily done from home. We all lived in isolation. For all those that lost their loved ones to covid, my deepest condolence - my thoughts are with you.

2020 was a great opportunity to teach us to care more for one another, to appreciate all the little things of life, and in the loss of so much good things we either must not or could not do, we should be grateful for having once done so much. And technology, family and friends made the almost unbearable tolerable. Here I quote part of the famous "Pale Blue Dot" from Carl Sagan (in a very different context from the original, but to me still valid): "To me, it underscores our responsibility to deal more kindly with one another and to preserve, and cherish, the pale blue dot; the only home we've ever known".

Quickly, about my astrophotography year: I had a difficult period from mid-March to mid-July of strict isolation in my home in São Paulo, away from the dark night skies. I had a dream-come-true trip to Atacama cancelled. But in July I spend my most productive month ever in my dark site, in the first light trip of my observatory (which was completed just before the pandemic restrictions started, in the end of February). Man, did I miss the stars! The proto-observatory with twin piers is shown in the middle of the “2020 overview” image, as it marked the central station for my astroimaging activities, and I had some of the best moments of the year there. I also acquired a new-to-me camera, a Canon 6D, which saw first light around October. I hope I can do great images with this bigger sensor, a significant step-up from my entry level T5. I could also use PixInsight extensively, and, although far from being a proficient user of all the tools it offers, I can say I became reasonably capable of using them and navigating the software.

Here on AstroBin I posted 25 images in 2020 including this one. I could also reprocess some older material, two of which were awarded IOTDs! That is, however, just a fraction of my work this year: I have a significant amount of material in the hard drive, waiting to be properly and carefully processed. Due to other activities, a busy schedule and the lack of the proper state of mind to process the images, I couldn’t process everything in the second half of the year (most of the data was captured in July-August). Some of those images are already finished, and can be seen in this review – can you spot the unpublished images?

2019 in numbers: I captured 286 hours of useful data (already excluding tests and clouded exposures)! This year’s total useful imaging time was significantly higher than previous ones, at 149h (2019) and 87h (2018). Mostly, this was due to the long time I could be at my dark site, the convenience of having the observatory, the simultaneous use of two mounts, and the automation provided by NINA, which could handle several all-night sessions with the telescope unattended for a long period of time, automatically repointing objects. Unsurprisingly, my most productive optical systems were the 150mm Newtonian (150h) and the 135mm Samyang lens (63h). My most productive month was July, with over 150h of integration: more than the entire year of 2019 =D.

This year I strengthened great bonds with my fellow astro-friends, but this year distantly, through technology and Zoom calls. And that is what I think astroimaging should be all about: sharing this wonderful journey, together.

As far as images, these are my “best picks” of the year. However not all of them are already posted here – can you stop which ones are still to be published?

Finally, it’s propitious time to ask and reflect: How was 2020? And what are the plans for 2021? I ask you all these questions, as I have asked myself - comments are more than welcome! Wish you all a healthy, peaceful, harmonious, prosperous, productive and enjoyable 2021, with many imaging opportunities, friendships, achievements and clear skies!

Happy New Year!