The Astrocast: Astronomy & Astrophotography

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WELCOME BAAAACK to The EUROCAST! In this weeks episode, guest host Mark Lindley takes The Astrocast to Europe for a trip through Switzerland, the French Alps, and the Vosges Mountains, where online friendships finally become face-to-face conversations.
Between missed train stops, passport trouble, cloudy skies, and a shared meal, Mark catches up with Dr. Klaus Schweitzer and Tim from Belgium. There’s plenty of astrophotography talk along the way: traveling with camera lenses, remote observatories, processing software, simple star trackers, and knowing when to upgrade your gear.
But the moment that makes the trip comes under the stars, when Tim sees the Milky Way for the first time. Mark closes his journey with a personal reflection on loneliness, friendship, and finding your people, followed by his original poem, “Alone Together.”
Come for the stars. Stay for the company.
Featured guests: Mark Lindley, Dr. Klaus Schweitzer, Tim, and Roo.
Field-recording note: Parts of the car conversation have rough audio. To skip ahead to the cottage conversation, jump from 36:05 to 1:16:40.
Chapters
00:00:00 A first glimpse of the Milky Way — cold open
00:00:48 Mark takes the mic: welcome to the Eurocast
00:04:20 The friends, the route, and the plan
00:09:14 Arriving in Geneva
00:12:21 Chamonix and the French Alps
00:16:48 Alpine hiking, wildlife, and changing glaciers
00:20:42 Sponsor: Dark Dragons Astronomy
00:22:29 The Mont Blanc Express and a break in the clouds
00:26:26 Lausanne, passport trouble, and travel lessons
00:34:53 A missed train stop on the way to the meetup
00:39:05 Meeting Dr. Schweitzer and hitting the road
00:54:52 Finding time to image and planning for remote skies
01:16:40 At the cottage: meet Tim
01:22:06 Cooking dinner and talking dark skies
01:31:08 Camera lenses versus telescopes
01:37:07 Processing software and homemade mounts
01:47:54 Building a remote observatory setup
01:58:09 Simple star trackers, dithering, and calibration frames
02:09:19 Choosing gear, upgrades, and support
02:20:32 Learning from the community
02:28:49 One-on-one with Tim: photography and finding astronomy
02:39:08 Generosity, friendship, and the Astrocast community
02:50:21 Imaging together and learning to gather more data
02:57:52 Mark shares his Mont Blanc Milky Way image
03:03:22 Planning a simple Milky Way setup
03:13:10 Finding the joy in less gear
03:22:11 Under the Stars: a clearing above the clouds
03:24:24 Tim sees the Milky Way for the first time
03:29:20 Heading home: Mark reflects on the trip
03:38:28 “Alone Together” — a poem by Mark Lindley
03:41:13 Roo’s closing thanks and epilogue
03:43:47 The Astrocast outro song
Music credit
“La fille aux cheveux de lin” from Préludes, Book I by Claude Debussy. MIDI performance by Katsuhiro Oguri, rendered using Garritan Steinway; published by Quinn Mason. Sourced from IMSLP, file #280628, licensed under Creative Commons Attribution 3.0. Mixed beneath poetry and closing narration for this episode.
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Please note!! When using affiliate links, PLEASE check and make sure you don't have an active ad-blocker/incognito mode on, as it will prevent the link from working. We also would like to welcome 365Astronomy as a new affiliate with the Astrocast! This affiliate has been requested for our friends across the pond in Europe, so I hope someone will use it. Thanks for your support!!!
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Sorry to bother your feeds! I had to reupload this weeks video, here ya go!

https://youtu.be/vl6zu6NJoH0

Clear skies!

-Roo
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Email me at "[email protected]" with any questions/comments. Thanks for listening!

UPDATE : Link updated, video back up! Sorry about that!

Hey Astrocast family! This week we have a VERY special episode for you, where me, Justin, and Parish sit down to discuss mono-processing in Pixinsight! There's no point in uploading an audio only version of this, so I thought i'd share the link! Hope to see you there, clear skies!
https://youtu.be/vl6zu6NJoH0

ALSO - we'll be back shortly with an all new audio episode! 
Support the show
Email me at "[email protected]" with any questions/comments. Thanks for listening!

✨ Agena Astro | 🔭 High Point Scientific | 📦 Amazon | 🌌 First Light Optics | 🪐 365 Astronomy
Please note!! When using affiliate links, PLEASE check and make sure you don't have an active ad-blocker/incognito mode on, as it will prevent the link from working. We also would like to welcome 365Astronomy as a new affiliate with the Astrocast! This affiliate has been requested for our friends across the pond in Europe, so I hope someone will use it. Thanks for your support!!!
Welcome BAAACK to The Astrocast! This week, Roo sits down and chats about getting back to basics, watching meteor showers with friends and family, and lots of new software for managing shared/networked folders and files. 
RustDesk: https://rustdesk.com/
SyncThing: https://syncthing.net/
Home Assistant: https://www.home-assistant.io/
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Support the show
Email me at "[email protected]" with any questions/comments. Thanks for listening!
Support the show
Email me at "[email protected]" with any questions/comments. Thanks for listening!

WELCOME BAAAACK to The Astrocast! Roo sits down this week for a quick catch up with you guys to discuss his next project, and the ongoing NONSENSE that is Reflect Orbital. This one gets a little spicy, fair warning!!! Read the FCC Petition from AAS here.  CALL OR WRITE YOUR LOCAL POLITICIANS! MAKE them do SOMETHING!
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🛒 AFFILIATE DISCLOSURE
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Ad blockers, incognito browsing and strict tracking protection may interfere with affiliate tracking. Thank you for supporting the show!
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Amazon: https://amzn.to/4n0OMsz
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ZWO AM3N with tripod: https://bit.ly/4ysuIX1
ZWO Seestar S30 Pro: https://bit.ly/4hH14Hp
🌌 BUILD ROO’S REMOTE RIG
GL.iNet Comet Remote KVM: https://amzn.to/4fF9GNp
ZWO ASI2600MC Pro: https://bit.ly/4ymcjLD
ZWO ASI2600MM Pro: https://bit.ly/3RsqQVr
ZWO ASI120MM Mini: https://bit.ly/4vwbs8b
ZWO AM3N: https://bit.ly/4ysuIX1
Mini PC: https://amzn.to/4gHGLcH
ZWO EAF: https://bit.ly/4yIEf1X
ZWO CAA Rotator: https://bit.ly/4pnFoC6
ZWO 5 × 2-inch EFW: https://bit.ly/4w9Kkxa
SVBONY SV241 Pro Power Hub: https://amzn.to/4h1lsD9
APC BE600M1 UPS: https://amzn.to/4f8snci
NETGEAR GS305E Switch: https://amzn.to/44v2uNE
TP-Link Tapo P316M Power Strip: https://amzn.to/4ymeJdb
👕 SUPPORT THE SHOW
Astrocast merch: https://qcroo.com/store
Buy Me a Coffee: https://buymeacoffee.com/theastrocast
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Support the show
Email me at "[email protected]" with any questions/comments. Thanks for listening!