Episode 107 - Let's talk Astro - The Astrocast: Astronomy & Astrophotography | Lyssna här

WELCOME BAAAACK to The Astrocast! This week, Roo catches up on remote imaging adventures, new gear, and getting back under the backyard skies.

A late-night rotator alert at AstroPeak turns into a reminder of why reliable on-site support matters when your telescope is hundreds of miles away. With the rig back in action, Roo sets his sights on the challenging Garlic Bulb Nebula and plans an experiment comparing unfiltered imaging with dual-band filters and ten-minute exposures to capture its faint OIII signal.

Back home, the Celestron C8 gets some attention with a Player One Xena 585M guide camera and FHD-OAG MAX. Roo shares his first impressions, considers Sky-Watcher’s SynLink controller as an alternative to ASIAIR or a mini PC, and talks about the MLAstro SAL-33 mount, learning SCT collimation, and the simple joy of neighbors turning their lights off.

CHAPTERS

00:00 Opening & Astrocast intro
00:49 Welcome back & a Savannah getaway
02:17 A late-night telescope scare at AstroPeak
03:11 Why on-site support matters for remote imaging
03:59 The rotator collision & getting the rig running again
06:26 Chasing the Garlic Bulb Nebula
07:34 Ten-minute exposures & the faint OIII experiment
08:49 Dark Shark results & throwing out cloudy-night data
10:05 EUROCAST thanks & community updates
10:51 The Astrocast Society, Discord & AstroPeak member discount
11:59 Building out the Celestron C8 beyond the ZWO ecosystem
13:51 Player One Xena 585M & FHD-OAG MAX first impressions
16:14 Bigger prisms, guide stars & a smooth helical focuser
18:50 Sky-Watcher SynLink: a new imaging controller option
21:26 SynLink vs. a mini PC running N.I.N.A.
23:43 Remote imaging features & controller considerations
24:25 C8 progress & the MLAstro SAL-33 mount
25:14 Learning SCT collimation
26:18 A future backyard setup & TeleGizmos 365 cover
26:44 Good neighbors, fewer lights & backyard astronomy
28:20 Upcoming projects, listener thanks & closing thoughts
30:03 Astrocast outro song

JOIN THE ASTROCAST SOCIETY

Want to talk astronomy, share your images, ask gear questions, and hang out with fellow astrophotographers? Join The Astrocast on Patreon for access to our private Discord community, and an exclusive discount at Astropeak Observatory, under Bortle 1 skies:
https://patreon.com/theastrocast

As discussed in this episode, Patreon members can also receive $5 per month off AstroPeak hosting, contact Roo for details.

AstroPeak remote observatory hosting - remember, JOIN THE PATREON and save 5 bucks a month!
https://astropeak.space/how-it-works

SOFTWARE & RESOURCES

N.I.N.A. — Nighttime Imaging ’N’ Astronomy:
https://nighttime-imaging.eu/

Target Scheduler plugin for N.I.N.A.:
https://tcpalmer.github.io/nina-scheduler/

Pushover notifications:
https://pushover.net/

GEAR & EQUIPMENT LINKS

Some links below are affiliate links. If you purchase through them, I may earn a commission at no additional cost to you. Thanks for supporting The Astrocast!

Askar SQA55 Astrograph:
https://bit.ly/4s4pAWg

Celestron C8 — current optical tube listing:
https://bit.ly/4dCBTTO

ASIAIR:

https://bit.ly/4ew1pdE

MLAstro SAL-33 Mount:
https://mlastro.com/product/mlastro-sal-33/

ZWO ASI585MC Pro:
https://bit.ly/4B3rWIT

Sky-Watcher Star Adventurer GTi:
https://bit.ly/4sazmq0

Celestron EdgeHD 8 Telescope:
https://bit.ly/4jkzGzX

TeleGizmos 365 Telescope Covers:
https://bit.ly/4eux0MN

Askar Color Magic Duo Filter Set:
https://bit.ly/47hvSbC

Sky-Watcher SynLink:
https://bit.ly/4yWse2X

GL.iNet Comet Remote KVM:
https://amzn.to/4fF9GNp