Meet Alex Fernandez: The Young Astronomer Capturing Stunning Celestial Phenomena from Ekerö

Alex Fernandez got his first telescope when he was 12 years old. Since then he has gotten a bigger one. – The more light a telescope lets in, the more you can see. And a big telescope lets in more light, it’s like a bucket of water that holds more.

Michael Anderson

– Many people do not think about what happens up here.

Alex Fernandez is standing by the field behind the Färentuna church and we look up at the sky. It’s high and bright and blindingly blue – it’s hard to imagine the galaxies, asteroids, planets and solar wind particles up there.

– I like to encourage others to see this. We so often look down at our mobile phones but we have so many others, above us.

He has spent several nights here and elsewhere on the islands – wrapped up against the cold, waiting for the real sight. Sometimes the wait is long. The northern lights in particular can be terrifying. Although there are several apps that check the strength of solar storms and provide forecasts for strong aurora borealis, it’s still a game to go outside.

– You should always keep expectations low. You don’t know how it will turn out and you have to wait a long time. I often sit outside until two or three in the morning, and sometimes it’s cold, says Alex.

– But you forget waiting and cold when you see the northern lights. It is so powerful.

A telescope as a Christmas present

He received his first telescope as a Christmas present in 2020, when he was 12 years old. The following Christmas, he received his first star tracker, which follows the rotation of the Earth and makes it possible to have a long time on the images. This is how Alex gets his pictures of planets and stars.

Milky way and northern lights over the fields at Färentuna. The image is cropped.

Alex Fernandez

Capturing deep space and celestial phenomena in photographs is a way to discover and record, while also providing access to natural experiences.

– Saturn’s rings, all Jupiter’s moons, all details and colors. It’s amazing what you see, says Alex.

Comet at Maskbacken

The day after our meeting, Alex is planning a night up on Maskbacken, to catch a comet. Then it comes up a little, which helps to see the comet, but also to overcome street lights and other lights. Because Alex is always looking for darkness.

– Stockholm is full of light pollution. I get so angry when I see lights go up. It’s so unnecessary, it’s not up there where the light is needed.

Out on the islands it’s better, not Norrlandsmörkt but still ok in the right places. Alex has captured the Milky Way over the fields of Färingsö, a lunar eclipse over Drottningholm, the full moon of August over Ekerö church and the northern lights over fields and church spires.

The supermoon in August at Ekerö church.

Alex Fernandez

The objects of the sky are the focus of his paintings, but they are often anchored in something close to the ground.

– I think a picture is good when there is something that people immediately understand what it is, like a church or a tree. It gives the picture a story. I love when the picture has a story.

The astronomer Ekerö

16 years.

Lives on Ekerö.

Attending Estonian program in high school, majoring in photography.

His photos can be seen at www.alexferein.com

Source: In the middle

We so often look down at our mobile phones but we have so many others, above us.