The Astrocast Christopher Page

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 the image, using icons to save time, installing plugins and managing repositories, Starnet 2, Graxpert, gradient removal, noise removal, star reduction, and everything in between! Grab a snack and a drink Astrofam, cause this is a BIG one!

Links for this week episode:

M42 and Horsehead Data (Icons are also here! I also put my completed image in this folder, if you want to check it out, using the same data provided here. It won't win any awards, but it'll show you what PI can do!)

Free Trial License request from PixInsight

GraXpert Download/Installer (you must install this the repository entry will work)


Sites to add to your repository list in PI (I recommend you add these all at once, just copy and paste the actual website, the whole https:// and everything after, the parts you need to copy are in bold):

EZ Processing Suite - https://elveteek.ch/pixinsight-updates/ez-processing-suite/
Graxpert - https://www.ideviceapps.de/PixInsight/Utilities/
Star Reduction - https://www.cosmicphotons.com/pi-scripts/starreduction/

Add these to your repositories if you get a purchase or get a free trial of any of the RC Astro Plugins:

BlurXterminator: https://www.rc-astro.com/BlurXTerminator/PixInsight/
NoiseXterminator: https://www.rc-astro.com/NoiseXTerminator/PixInsight/
StarXterminator: https://www.rc-astro.com/StarXTerminator/PixInsight/

Become a Member of The Astrocast Family!

Support the show by giving 1 dollar a month at the "Happy Dude" level! Or 5 dollars a month for added benefits! Visit our Patreon at the link above for more info! 

If you enjoyed this series, please let me know! Shoot me an email at the address below or reach out to me on FB or Instagram. I am always super happy to hear from listeners! 
Support the Show.
Email me at "RooAstrocast@gmail.com" with any questions/comments. Thanks for listening!

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 your ears, into the very process Roo uses to process his own photos. In this first episode, we cover the costs associated with purchasing a license for PI, as well as its competitors. We also go over how to separate your lights from calibration frames, folder structure, and then importing the files into PI so you can properly use the Weighted Batch Preprocessing script. By the end of the episode, you'll have a fully stacked and an auto-stretched image. Next week, we will get into the next steps of processing.

I am including a link to my Google Drive which includes some data you can use to follow along, in case you don't have your own. This is nothing fancy, just some M42 data. Truth be told, I haven't stacked it myself yet. But if it's amazing, let me know. It's from my new 135 rig. There is also a folder that includes my goto Icons for Pixinsight, though we'll go over that in more detail on next weeks episode.

Request a Free Trial of Pixinsight

M42 and Horsehead Data

Lukomaticos Video for Pixinsight Tutorial

Become a Member of The Astrocast Family!

Join our Discord for only $1 a month, to help spread the word about the show!

Thanks so much for listening, as always! Clear skies! 
Support the Show.
Email me at "RooAstrocast@gmail.com" with any questions/comments. Thanks for listening!

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 ended up ordering a Noctua Air Cooler to get us back up and running, and we're good to go now!

On this weeks episode, Roo takes you through a NEW hobby for Astronomy that he had heard spoken of many times before, but have never once considsered doing himself for some reason, until it finally struck him like a bolt of ionized O3 nebulosity at 3nm wavelength! We also catch up on what's new in my local night skies and discuss Galaxy Season seemingly FLYING by us! (Which i'm quite happy about!) NEBULA SEASON WILL BE HERE SOON!

Forgive me if all the links for the show aren't here right away. I didn't get to do my full, massive edit I normally do on this episode due to the crash earlier this week, but I thought it was more important to get the content out to you guys ASAP. Whatever I missed i'll come back and add in as soon i'm finished listening to the episode.

NEW Patreon $1/month "Happy Dude" tier! If you would like to support the show, for just 1 dollar a month to help advertise the show in new markets and bring more listeners in to the Astrocast family, please help us out by donating a buck! You'll get  access to our Patreon only live chat we'll be holding on our private discord, as well as access to future livestream sessions for instruction and just plain old fun! Go here to join, thank you SO MUCH! Please note - the 5 dollar tier includes a shoutout at the end of an Episode of the Astrocast. I believe I may have mispoken on this weeks episode, but I have to distinguish the two somehow, so thank you for understanding! 

Click below to join!
Astrocast Patreon

"Seeing"/Astronomical forecast Apps for iOS and Android:

IOS: iCSC: Clear Sky Chart Viewer 
Android: Good To Stargaze (also available on iOS, search for Good to Stargze in appstore)

This weeks reccomendation:
"Letters from an Astrophysicist" by Neil Degrass Tyson

More links to come.

Thanks for listening, clear skies! 
Support the Show.
Email me at "RooAstrocast@gmail.com" with any questions/comments. Thanks for listening!

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 all around the world!

Show Links:

My image of Markarians Chain from the new F2 Rig on Saturday night! (Annotated version as well!)

Dark Dragons Astronomy

Astronomy Tools

Astrometry.net for Plate Solving!

3 Sisters Astronomy

Zero Gravity Chairs for Stargazing!


Thanks so much for listening, and we'll be back next week with a new episode! CLEAR SKIES! 
Support the Show.
Email me at "RooAstrocast@gmail.com" with any questions/comments. Thanks for listening!

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 of gear to create your own ultimate Wide Field imaging rig for Astrophotography, along with every price, and what is and isn't a must have!

This episode is dedicated to Ting-Ting, who was laid to rest on 4/1/24 after 19 year of being Roo's best pet friend in the world. Just 2 weeks after losing Biscuit, we unfortunately lost Ting-Ting, now we have no felines left in the Page household :(

Note: This week we have a LOT of links, so rather than post them all on the episode, i've created a Google Doc which has them all. TinyURL also wasn't functioning properly, so this will be easier to download/access for you as needed:

Episode 12 Links

Thanks for tuning in to The Astrocast, and we'll see you next week! CLEAR SKIES, and enjoy the eclipse!!!
Support the Show.
Email me at "RooAstrocast@gmail.com" with any questions/comments. Thanks for listening!

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's. She will be greatly missed. I'm happy to be back though, and this week's episode is a great one!

We're talking about FILTERS for one shot color cameras! We talk about where to start, what you should get, what to expect, and how much to spend. I give 3 great examples of various filters that can take on various jobs that range from DSLR Cameras to Cooled Astro Cams.

If you would like to support the show, please consider joining our PATREON! For just 5 bucks a month, you can help spread the word of The Astrocast, and get a shoutout at the end of the episode!
The Astrocast | Weekly Astronomy/Astrophotography Podcast | Patreon

Links from Show:

DSLR Clip in filter:

Astronomiks Canon CLS Clip in Filter

Dual Band Filters:

iOptron L-Extreme F2 (Fast Lenses)

iOptron L-Extreme (Regular Scopes)

ZWO Duoband Filter (1.25 inch)

Broadband Filter:

iOptron L-PRO

Filter Drawers/Wheels:

ZWO Filter Drawer M42

ZWO 5 bay Filter Wheel (2 inch)

Rokinon/Samyang Replacement Bayonet (M48)

This weeks recommendation:
My Favorite Universe, by Neil DeGrasse Tyson

Thanks so much for tuning in to the show, and we'll see you again next week! CLEAR SKIES! 
Support the Show.
Email me at "RooAstrocast@gmail.com" with any questions/comments. Thanks for listening!