Flaming Stars

Gathering Photons in Ohio

Willie Stickley joins from Cleveland, Ohio to talk about what happens when a full-time photographer points a camera at the night sky. We get into his Faintest and Furthest project (34 hours on a ghost planetary nebula near Andromeda), 10-minute subs on an AM5, and why he thinks narrowband is where the real art lives. Plus we talk collaborative imaging with friends at Observatory Park, the PixInsight learning curve, concert photography parallels to astrophotography, and whether smart telescopes are good for the hobby. Nick believes in Bigfoot.

It's "Mel-bin"

Our first international guest! Liz from @downunderstars joins from Australia to talk about what astrophotography looks like from the southern hemisphere. We get into her origin story (discovering the N on the tripod needs to face south), southern sky objects we've never even heard of, and her new gig building observatories for Rent An Observatory. Plus Liz is working on a 24-panel mosaic of the Large Magellanic Cloud, we find out the southern hemisphere can only do the "Messier 100," and the huntsman spider may not be as scary as we thought. Cosmic Yet Brave: Liz calls out the toxicity on Facebook. Brett is over entropy. Nick says galaxy season is overrated. Find Liz at @downunderstars on Instagram and downunderstars.com.au [http://downunderstars.com.au]. Check out Rent An Observatory at rentanobservatory.com.au [http://rentanobservatory.com.au].

Indecent Light Exposure

Brett and Nick are joined by Thorne (@ransomobservatory), astrophotographer and US ambassador for Starpoint Australis, to talk dual telescope setups, portable observatories, and the star party circuit from Cherry Springs to West Virginia to Canada. Thorne breaks down how he runs two 8-inch RASAs on one mount to double his integration time, and why he goes after the faintest targets he can find under dark skies. Plus: the etiquette of light at star parties, Brett gets philosophical about the incompleteness of astronomical data, and Nick can't find five-inch inseam gym shorts to show off his new tattoo.

Houston, We Have a Guest

Brett and Nick welcome their first guest, Matt Molitor (@astro_dad86), to talk light pollution from a Chicago rooftop vs. the suburbs, what it's like imaging under truly dark skies at Cherry Springs, and how they all got started in astrophotography with cell phones and DSLRs. Plus: flat Earthers as a "Cosmic, yet Brave," Nick's astrophotography tattoo, and an asteroid that's as close as the moon.

Artemis II

Brett and Nick react to the Artemis II launch, compare it to the Apollo era, and debate whether we'd be on Mars by now if space funding had kept up. Plus: International Dark Sky Week, galaxy season imaging updates, and a cosmic yet brave take on the Billboard charts.