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More Than Astrophotography: Leonardo Hansen's Journey from Darkness Back to the Stars
More Than Astrophotography: Leonardo Hansen's Journey from Darkness Back to the Stars
Looking back, it's amazing how far things have come. From someone who barely left the house after COVID to someone planning imaging sessions, chasing dark skies, processing for hours in PixInsight, and sharing images with people from all over the world.
"Hi, I'm Leonardo Hansen. A few years ago, I worked as a COVID ICU doctor during one of the hardest periods of my life.
Long after the pandemic ended, I was still carrying those experiences with me. I withdrew from people, struggled with PTSD, and couldn't find anything that truly brought me peace.
Then I found astronomy. It all started with a Seestar S50.
What I thought would be just a telescope became something much bigger. It gave me a reason to spend my evenings under the stars instead of alone with my thoughts. It introduced me to image processing, the beauty of the night sky, and an incredible community that shared the same passion.
Little by little, astrophotography became part of my healing.
Today, I regularly drive 45 minutes to Bortle 3 skies, spend hours capturing deep-sky objects, and process my images in PixInsight. My setup has grown to two Seestar S50s for mosaics and SHO imaging, and now a new Seestar S30 Pro, which has completely exceeded my expectations. The wider field of view, the incredibly sensitive sensor, the low noise, and the consistency of 60-second exposures left me speechless.
Every new project pushes me to learn something new, and every successful image reminds me why I fell in love with this hobby. I captured those first S30 Pro images while recovering at home from pneumonia. Since I couldn't work, I finally had time to collect long integrations and process the data. Sometimes life forces us to slow down, and in my case, it gave me the opportunity to appreciate this hobby even more.
Looking back, it's amazing how far things have come. From someone who barely left the house after COVID to someone planning imaging sessions, chasing dark skies, processing for hours in PixInsight, and sharing images with people from all over the world.
These photos are more than pretty pictures of nebulae to me. They represent healing, patience, and countless quiet nights spent looking upward instead of backward.
Thank you, Seestar, for making astrophotography accessible. You didn't just give me a telescope—you helped me rediscover a passion that changed my life.
Clear skies to everyone.”
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