The Astrocast

Welcome back to The Astrocast! I hope you all like this weeks episode, it's a little shorter than usual, and the format is definitely different than we normally do, but given this week's schedule constraints, I thought it would be fun. If you would like to support the show, please feel free to donate via our Patreon! You can find it here. Please send in your questions, as I'd like t...

WELCOME BAAAAACK to The Astrocast! This week, Roo opines on the terrible situation that has been the North American Milky Way Season of 2024. How has your Astronomy been these last few months?? Email me what your experience for Summer 2024 has been so far, at "rooastrocast@gmail.com", and we'll talk about it next week!   We also take a look at some of the hobbies and keep Roo intere...

Sorry for the delay everyone!! Everything that can go wrong, sometimes go wrong! Murphys Law, as they say. You'll have to ignore the part where I mention this is a "YouTube episode", as the greenscreen key was messed up, and I couldn't fix it!! If I've learned one thing this week, it's to make sure your green screen is evenly lit!! Welcome back to the ASTROCAST!! This...

WELCOME BAAAACK to the Astrocast! We're on YOUTUBE this week! If you'd like to check out the episode there, visit: Episode 25 - A Basic Astrophotography Setup Better late than never!! Sorry guys - anything that could go wrong this week, DID GO WRONG this week. You know how it goes! This week on The Astrocast, Roo takes you through one of his favorite setups in AP, the venerable Camera an...

Welcome BAAAACK to the ASTROCAST! This week Roo is going  to tell you all about Calibration frames! We go over what each type of frame is, why you use it, how to take it, and everything in between! Using Calibration frames is a surefire way to improve your astrophotography game BIG time with very little extra effort! If you would like to SUPPORT the show , you can do by donating just 1 or 5 dollar...

Welcome BAAAACK to the ASTROCAST! This is a SPECIAL week, as it's our videocast debut!!! If you would prefer to watch the video version of the pod, check it out here: The Astrocast Youtube Channel If you would like to SUPPORT The Astrocast, please consider becoming a member of our Patreon! You'll get a shoutout in a future episode, access to our members only discord, and hopefully a supe...

WELCOME BAAAACK to the ASTROCAST! This week on the show, we'll be looking in to how to find the rarer nebula that aren't quite as common as many of the ones we see on a normal basis. Roo will give you specific instructions for how to visualize and locate nebula that you may have never heard of before! Also - we talk about how to avoid being scammed on a CERTAIN website that you should ne...

WELCOME BAAAACK to the Astrocast! I've missed being away and talking with you all, and I hope you've had a great new moon while I was gone! This week Roo takes you through a recap of his 2nd annual Dark Sky trip to B1/B2 skies and talks about some of the most fun he's had imaging in years, while using some of the simplest setups possible. You might be surprised to learn that his fav...

What sort of tools can you find online to make you a better Astrophotographer? Better yet, HOW can you use those tools to become better? What sort of apps can make the hobby more fun? This week, Roo is going to dive deep into many of them. We'll cover everything from tools to help you determine if your 'scope is sampled properly, to whether the seeing is good tonight, and many other thin...

Welcome back to The Astrocast! Thanks for waiting an extra week longer than normal, Roo needed a break as he has been in full CRUNCH mode at his day job, and as this is a one man band, occasionally we all need a little time off! This week, we get into Milky Way Panorama/Mosaic photos, how to do a Polar alignment from start to finish and talk about some cool stuff you may or may not know about Pola...

Welcome back to The Astrocast! This week, Roo sits down to talk about the AMAZING experience we all had over the past weekend, getting to experience the Northern Lights in places you normally NEVER do! Which ended up being a majority of the Northern Hemisphere! He also takes you through an excellent method for finding a dark sky locations on short notice. This method includes using Google Earth fo...

WELCOME BACK to the Astrocast! After taking a couple weeks to dive DEEP in to the workings of Pixinsight, we are back to our normal chat! We discuss a wide variety of topics, including the mighty Celestron SCT and Hyperstar combination, the advantages of imaging at F2, and what Roo should start thinking about before building his first home observatory! A GIANT thank you to our 2 new Patreon Subscr...

Welcome back to the 2nd episode in the Pixinsight series of The Astrocast! This week, Roo takes you through the  processing portion of using Pixinsight! If you haven't listened to last weeks episode (episode 15) - I would highly recommend you check that out first! After finishing up last week with a stacked, linear image, we dive in to everything that remains. We will go through stretching th...

Sorry the episode is a few minutes late! I may be changing the upload time to 9pm EST on Tuesday, just because it's hard to get the edit out by 8. We'll see! In this week's episode, the first in a series, Roo starts taking you through the ins and outs of Pixinsight. What started as a simple "lets highlight the favorite features of" Pixinsight quickly devolves, right before...

Astrocast Patreon - New $1/month tier to help support the show, details below! Welcome back, Astro fam! I apologize for the 2-day delay, but the PC was overheating! I took the AIO Watercooler off and the Thermal paste looked absolutely cooked, so I ordered a new tube thinking "surely that's it!", but alas, after replacing the paste, we were still at 90* C right after boot up. I ende...

This week Roo talks Shop with you. We recap the Great American Solar Eclipse. Talk about a recent trip down the club Observatory, and even go over something STRANGE we saw in the night sky! If you would like to show your support , consider becoming a member of our Patreon ! For $5 a month, you will help spread the word of The Astrocast to others, so we can grow our family, and reach new audiences...

Welcome back to the ASTROCAST! In this special, EXTRA LONG episode, Roo takes you through the EXACT steps of building the ULTIMATE widefield rig! If you've ever wondered exactly what you would need to build a perfect widefield imaging rig for astrophotography, than this episode is for you! Roo takes you through exactly which pieces you need, and exactly what each piece DOES in this collection...

Welcome back to The Astrocast! We are celebrating our tenth episode this week and are so happy to have you along for the ride!!! This week, we answer a reader's question with a DEEP DIVE in to how to go about printing your Astrophotography images at home and selling them! We go over everything you'll need from top to bottom, including how much you'll need to invest, and whether or n...

Looks like this went live a little early, enjoy! No clue why it's saying 3/12, but this is indeed for today (3/26/24). Welcome BACK Astro fam! Sorry I was gone - I missed you all! Unfortunately, I was not on vacation, but rather our beloved cat Biscuit passed away. She was with me for 16 years after I found her in a bush at an office park as a tiny little kitten, where I worked at in my 20&ap...

*Quick note!* There was a few strange artifacts with last nights upload that I noticed - so i'm doing a quick reupload - this should resolve the issue. Thanks! Sorry for the trouble! This week on the Astrocast - we get in to a little bit of everything. The skies FINALLY clear over Charlotte, NC and Roo quickly takes advantage with a friend. We talk about a few beautiful new Refractors from Wi...

Welcome to Episode 8 of the Astrocast! This week, Roo will take you through, step by step, EVERYTHING you need to have and know about shooting awesome photos of the Milky Way! If you've been looking for a comprehensive guide on how to get awesome shots of the MW and just aren't sure exactly what equipment is needed or exactly what settings to use, then this episode is for you! Thank you...

Welcome to this weeks Astrocast! We have a VERY special episode this week, our first interview! Joining Roo to discuss Astronomy is Rick Bassham, the Director for the Gayle H. Riggsbee Observatory, that is the homebase for the Charlotte Amateur Astronomers Club. CAAC is Charlotte, NC (USA)'s Amateur Astronomy Club. There are MANY like it, all over the world! Check out the Night Sky Network to...

In this week's episode of the Astrocast, Roo discusses what it likes to go through the various seasons in Astrophotography, including why many wide-field Astrophotographers consider Spring, or "Galaxy Season", to be a bit boring! But luckily, he suggests many things you can do during this time, including images to target and processes to work on. Later in the episode, we get in to t...

Thanks for tuning in to this weeks Astrocast! This week, Roo takes you through what it's like to join an Astronomy Club, and what to expect when you head out to your first star party. Hopefully you'll learn a few tips along the way, so you don't have to make all the same mistakes he did! The Night Sky Network: Night Sky Network (nasa.gov) Please email us! RooAstrocast@gmail.com Or o...

Welcome to Episode 4 of the Astrocast! This week, Roo will cover a question that he has consistently seen asked since day one of journey in to learning astronomy, "What is a good telescope to buy for my (friend/family member/loved one) to get them in to Astronomy?" While this seems like a simple enough question, unfortunately the online marketplaces are LITTERED with garbage telescopes t...