# Mac Observatory
> The definitive resource for astrophotography on the Mac. Native macOS and iOS software reviews, telescope and camera guides, processing tutorials, and three original apps: Laminar, Strata, and Meridian.
Public Ghost content for AI and LLM tooling. Use `/llms-full.txt` for consolidated page and post context.
Append `.md` to any post or page URL to get the content in Markdown (for example, `/example-post.md`).

## Pages
- [About Mac Observatory](https://macobservatory.com/about.md) - One backyard, one Mac, and a question nobody was answering.
- [Mac Astrophotography FAQ: Software, Hardware & Workflows](https://macobservatory.com/astrophotography-on-the-mac-faq.md) - Answers to 65 common questions about doing astrophotography on a Mac: software, hardware, workflows, and equipment compatibility.
- [Astrophotography on the Mac: The Complete Guide](https://macobservatory.com/astrophotography-on-the-mac.md) - You don't need a PC to do astrophotography. Here's why — and how.
- [Ephemeris - PHD2 Log Viewer](https://macobservatory.com/ephemeris-phd2-log-viewer.md) - ih-FEM-uh-riss: read last night's PHD2 guide log, then see what your rig has done all season Download for macOS View on GitHub Free · GPLv3 · Requires macOS 15 Sequoia or later View release notes on GitHub Ephemeris is a Mac-native viewer for PHD2 guide logs, the text files PHD2 writes during every…
- [iPhone & iPad Astronomy Software](https://macobservatory.com/iphone-ipad-astronomy-software.md) - A comprehensive directory of astronomy and stargazing apps for iPhone and iPad — planetariums, smart telescope companions, astrophotography tools, weather, and planning utilities.
- [Laminar - Planetary Capture](https://macobservatory.com/laminar-planetary-capture-software.md) - Planetary imaging capture for macOS. Real-time frame quality analysis. SER video recording. 10 camera brands supported. Native on Apple Silicon. $34.99, one-time purchase.
- [Laminar Privacy Policy](https://macobservatory.com/laminar-privacy-policy.md) - Last updated: August 2026 Overview Laminar is a planetary imaging capture application developed by Mac Observatory (Andrew Burwell). We respect your privacy and have designed Laminar to collect the minimum data necessary to function. The short version: Laminar does not create accounts, does not tra…
- [Laminar Support](https://macobservatory.com/laminar-support.md) - Last updated: 2026-08-21 Need help with Laminar? This guide explains how to get support, collect diagnostic information, and report issues effectively. Getting Help Before contacting support, try these resources: 1. User Guide — Check the User Guide for feature explanations and the Troubleshooting…
- [Mac Astronomy Software — The Complete Directory](https://macobservatory.com/mac-astronomy-software.md) - Every astronomy and astrophotography application available for macOS — over 60 apps across 12 categories, verified and regularly updated.
- [Meridian - Deep Sky Imaging Catalog](https://macobservatory.com/meridian-deep-sky-imaging-catalog.md) - Your deep sky imaging archive — cataloged, visualized, and searchable. Native on Apple Silicon.
- [Privacy Policy — Meridian](https://macobservatory.com/meridian-privacy-policy.md) - Privacy Policy Meridian - Deep Sky Catalog Effective Date: August 5, 2026 Developer: Mac Observatory Overview Meridian is designed with privacy as a core principle. Your imaging data stays on your Mac. We do not collect, transmit, or store any personal information, usage analytics, or telemetry. Da…
- [Meridian Support](https://macobservatory.com/meridian-support.md) - Last updated: 2026-07-27 Need help with Meridian? This guide covers common issues, troubleshooting steps, and how to contact support effectively. Getting Help Before contacting support, try these resources: 1. Re-scan your archive. Many issues resolve after a fresh scan. Press Cmd+Shift+R to force…
- [Start Here: Your Intro to Astronomy & Astrophotography on the Mac](https://macobservatory.com/start-here.md) - Your guide to astrophotography on the Mac — find the right starting point based on where you are in your journey.
- [Strata: Planetary Processing](https://macobservatory.com/strata-planetary-processing.md) - Professional planetary stacking and sharpening for macOS. From SER capture to publication-ready image — in one app.
- [Privacy Policy — Strata](https://macobservatory.com/strata-privacy-policy.md) - Privacy Policy Strata — Planetary Stacking Effective Date: March 25, 2026 Developer: Mac Observatory Overview Strata is designed with privacy as a core principle. All image processing runs locally on your Mac using Metal GPU acceleration. We do not collect, transmit, or store any personal informati…
- [Strata — Sample Data](https://macobservatory.com/strata-sample-data.md) - Download sample capture files to test Strata's full planetary processing pipeline. These files are provided for app evaluation and testing purposes. Download Download Strata Sample Files (ZIP) The archive contains: * Saturn SER video (2022-10-25-0055_2.ser) — A planetary capture in SER format for t…
- [Strata Support](https://macobservatory.com/strata-support.md) - Last updated: 2026-03-25 Need help with Strata? This guide covers common issues, troubleshooting steps, and how to contact support effectively. Getting Help Before contacting support, try these resources: 1. Check your SER file — Strata supports SER v2/v3 files in 8-bit and 16-bit depth with Bayer…
- [Transit - Astronomical Events](https://macobservatory.com/transit-astronomical-events.md) - Live sky conditions, seeing, and tonight's events in your Mac's menu bar — with notifications that check the sky first. Native on Apple Silicon. $9.99, one-time purchase.
- [Useful Astronomy Websites](https://macobservatory.com/useful-astronomy-websites.md) - A curated directory of the most useful astronomy and astrophotography websites — planning tools, weather services, image hosting, forums, data archives, and learning resources.
- [Which Mac for Astrophotography? 2026 Buying Guide](https://macobservatory.com/which-mac-for-astrophotography.md) - A practical buying guide for the Mac-using astronomer, updated July 2026 for Apple's revised pricing and current availability.

## Posts
- [Strata 1.3 Adds Warp+, and Here's What I Measured](https://macobservatory.com/strata-1-3-adds-warp-and-heres-what-i-measured.md) - Warp+ picks the sharpest frames separately at every alignment point. On a 799-frame Moon capture it gained about 14% local contrast at the median tile, at 2x to 3x the stacking time.
- [Why I Shipped Laminar's Interval Capture as a Shortcut Instead of a Feature](https://macobservatory.com/laminar-interval-capture-app-intents.md) - Two App Intents, a bundled shortcut, and the interface work that isn't ready yet.
- [Strata 1.2.1: How One Tester's Logs Cut a 19-Hour Solar Batch to Five](https://macobservatory.com/strata-1-2-1-solar-batch-performance-drizzle.md) - Sven ran the same 1,999 solar videos through Strata and Planetary System Stacker on the same Mac. Strata took 19.65 hours. PSS took 7.2. His logs found a GPU bug that was invisible on my own hardware.
- [How Long Does an EdgeHD Really Take to Cool Down?](https://macobservatory.com/edgehd-cool-down-focus-temperature.md) - EdgeHD focus data: 694 autofocus runs, one temperature coefficient, and a probe that lied for 23 nights
- [Two Free Planning Calculators: Deep-Sky Field of View and Planetary Capture](https://macobservatory.com/two-free-planning-calculators-deep-sky-field-of-view-and-planetary-capture.md) - A deep-sky framing calculator that overlays your sensor on real survey imagery and counts your guide stars, and a planetary calculator that places any planet and its moons on your chip for any date and time, then finds your frame-rate ceiling. Both free, both in the browser, no account.
- [Strata 1.0 is out](https://macobservatory.com/strata-1-0-is-out.md) - Strata 1.0 is on the Mac App Store. The third stacking engine I wrote, six months of beta, 367 pieces of feedback, and the testers who shaped every part of it.
- [Planetary Cameras vs Deep-Sky Cameras: When Does Specialization Matter?](https://macobservatory.com/planetary-vs-deep-sky-cameras-sensor-requirements.md) - Frame rate is the spec that splits the two categories, and it costs more than the spec sheets admit. Measured on an EdgeHD 8, with a pixel scale calculator to check your own combination.
- [Ephemeris 2.0 is out: from last night to this season](https://macobservatory.com/ephemeris-2-0.md) - Ephemeris now keeps a library of every night your rig has recorded, tells you what it notices across them, and always says where each observation came from.
- [July 31, 2026 Venus](https://macobservatory.com/july-31-2026-venus.md) - Venus near dichotomy, twenty minutes after sunset, in seeing Laminar rated as poor. 10,000 frames at 347 fps through an EdgeHD 8 and a 2.5x Powermate, captured in Laminar and stacked, sharpened, and colored in Strata.
- [Meridian 1.0 Is on the Mac App Store, and the Beta Is Closing](https://macobservatory.com/meridian-1-0-mac-app-store-release.md) - Meridian, the native macOS deep sky archive manager, is now on the Mac App Store. Fourteen rounds of beta, 93 bug reports, and the features that exist because testers sent me email.
- [Laminar Keeps Shipping: Everything New Since 1.5.0](https://macobservatory.com/laminar-keeps-shipping-everything-new-since-1-5-0.md) - Eight free updates since the 1.5.0 release. QHY joins full production, Laminar now measures your drives and plans captures around them, and a capture-engine rebuild you can feel in the interface.
- [Introducing Transit: Tonight's Astronomical Events, in Your Mac's Menu Bar](https://macobservatory.com/introducing-transit-astronomy-events-mac.md) - Transit is a new Mac-native menu bar app that watches for astronomical events and notifies you with enough lead time to actually get outside. Here's why I built it.
- [Laminar 1.5 Brings Live Calibration to Mac Planetary and Solar Capture](https://macobservatory.com/laminar-1-5-calibration.md) - Laminar 1.5 applies dark, flat, and hot pixel correction to the live preview as you focus and tune, with in-app capture wizards, a per-camera master library, and import for existing FITS and SER masters.
- [The Last Porchlight in M88](https://macobservatory.com/the-last-porchlight-in-m88.md) - Over 15 hours of integration on a spiral in the Virgo Cluster, and a short story about a frontier rancher on the galaxy's outer limb who watches ram pressure strip his world bare, fires off a claim against the universe, and gets paid back with interest.
- [Strata Build 14: Solar Tone Rebuilt, and Honesty About What's Next](https://macobservatory.com/strata-build-14-solar-tone-rebuild.md) - Build 14 of Strata, the Mac-native planetary and solar processor in the Mac Observatory Suite, is on TestFlight. The headline change is a complete rebuild of the solar processing controls, now labeled Solar Tone in the UI. The rest of the build is a reliability and cleanup pass: planetary safety ne…
- [Laminar 1.2.5: White Balance Comes to the Inspector, Plus Celestron and UVC Camera Support](https://macobservatory.com/laminar-1-2-5-white-balance-celestron-uvc-support.md) - Laminar 1.2.5 brings camera-side white balance directly into the Inspector, graduates the ToupTek OEM family and SVBONY out of Beta, and adds initial support for Celestron webcam-style astronomy cameras alongside generic UVC video devices including iPhone via Continuity Camera.
- [Laminar 1.2.3 is Out: Editable Custom ROI, a Refactored Imaging Pipeline, and Two Cameras Out of Beta](https://macobservatory.com/laminar-1-2-3-update.md) - Laminar 1.2.3 finishes the editable Custom ROI workflow with eight resize handles and numeric entry, refactors live preview onto a Metal-direct path, and graduates the SVBONY SV305C PRO and ToupTek Astro G3M678C out of Beta after hardware testing.
- [PixInsight 1.9.4 Lockhart Brings Native Apple Silicon to Mac Astrophotography](https://macobservatory.com/pixinsight-1-9-4-native-apple-silicon.md) - After five and a half years of Rosetta 2, PixInsight finally runs as a native ARM64 binary on M-series Macs. I tested it on my Mac Studio M3 Ultra and the CPU score nearly doubled.
- [May 3, 2026 Sun](https://macobservatory.com/may-3-2026-sun.md) - The first time I ran a full solar capture and processing workflow inside my own apps: 11,159 H-alpha frames through a Lunt LS60MT, captured in Laminar and stacked, sharpened, and colored in Strata.
- [M90: The Violet Harvest](https://macobservatory.com/m90-the-violet-harvest.md) - Over 24 hours of integration on a large spiral in the Virgo Cluster — and a short story about a civilization that lives inside the bright heart of M90, harvests spores from the radio winds, and discovers too late what their elders have become.
- [Introducing Ephemeris: Native PHD2 Guide Log Analysis on the Mac](https://macobservatory.com/ephemeris-1-0.md) - Ephemeris is a free, Mac-native viewer for PHD2 guide logs — Swift Charts, FFT, multi-session combine, drag-to-exclude. Available now from Mac Observatory.
- [On the Rim of NGC 3718](https://macobservatory.com/on-the-rim-of-ngc-3718.md) - Over 45 hours of integration on the gravitationally warped spiral in Ursa Major — and a short story about a civilization watching its galaxy come undone, and discovering it was never alone.
- [Laminar 1.1.0: Planetary Capture for Ten Camera Brands on Mac](https://macobservatory.com/laminar-1-1-camera-expansion.md) - Laminar 1.1.0 is live on the Mac App Store with native macOS support for ten astronomy camera brands — QHY, ToupTek, SVBONY, Altair Astro, OGMA, RisingCam, MallinCam, Omegon, plus ZWO and PlayerOne.
- [Laminar 1.0 Is on the Mac App Store — Native Planetary Capture for macOS](https://macobservatory.com/laminar-1-0-mac-app-store-release.md) - The first planetary capture app built specifically for the Mac is here. Real-time frame quality analysis, automatic planet tracking, and atmospheric seeing scores — $34.99 on the Mac App Store.
- [Mac Observatory Automation with ASCOM Alpaca: What Works in 2026](https://macobservatory.com/ascom-alpaca-mac-observatory-automation.md) - ASCOM Alpaca Is Quietly Unlocking Full Observatory Automation for Mac Users The biggest obstacle to running a fully automated observatory on a Mac has never been the telescope, the camera, or the mount. It has been the software layer that glues everything together. ASCOM Alpaca is an open, network-…
- [Strata Is Now in Beta — Native Planetary Stacking and Sharpening for macOS](https://macobservatory.com/strata-planetary-processing-beta.md) - Strata replaces the traditional Windows-only chain of AutoStakkert, RegiStax, and PIPP with a single GPU-accelerated macOS app. Now available as a free public beta on TestFlight.
- [How to Identify Unknown Objects in Your Deep-Sky Images on Mac](https://macobservatory.com/plate-solve-identify-deep-sky-objects-mac.md) - The full identification workflow — plate solving, catalog queries, and one-step annotation — runs natively on every Mac. Identifying an unknown object in a deep-sky image requires two steps — plate solving to pin down the sky coordinates, then catalog cross-reference against databases like SIMBAD o…
- [NGC 4535: The Lost Galaxy Sends a Signal](https://macobservatory.com/ngc-4535-the-lost-galaxy-sends-a-signal.md) - Over 31 hours of integration on the pale barred spiral in Virgo that William Herschel discovered in 1785 — and a short story about what might be looking back.
- [Deep-Sky Stacking Software for Mac: The Complete 2026 Guide](https://macobservatory.com/mac-deep-sky-stacking-software-guide.md) - Deep-sky stacking software combines multiple long-exposure astrophotography frames, calibrated with darks, flats, and bias frames, into a single high-signal image by aligning star patterns and averaging out noise. On macOS, where Windows' standard DeepSkyStacker doesn't exist, Mac users now have op…
- [The MacBook Behind the Black Hole: How Mac Supports Cutting-Edge Astronomical Research](https://macobservatory.com/mac-astronomy-research-black-hole-case-study.md) - Katie Bouman's viral photo told half the story — here's why professional astronomers chose Mac long before that moment. When Katie Bouman, a computer scientist at MIT's Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory who developed the CHIRP algorithm that enabled the Event Horizon Telescope…
- [How to Organize & Track Your Astrophotography Data Library Across Devices and Cloud Storage](https://macobservatory.com/organize-astrophotography-data-library-mac.md) - From scattered folders to searchable archives — a practical guide to managing integration time, calibration frames, and multi-session imaging data across local drives, cloud storage, and multiple capture devices. Astrophotographers using macOS face a unique organizational challenge: frames captured…
- [KStars, Ekos and INDI on the Mac: What Works in 2026](https://macobservatory.com/kstars-ekos-apple-silicon-mac-build-2026.md) - KStars and Ekos are free and actively developed, but the official Mac build is still Intel-only. Where to run them, and what to use instead.
- [Where to find free raw astrophotography data for practice: public archives, sample datasets, and how to use them to build processing skills before your first session.](https://macobservatory.com/free-astrophotography-practice-data.md) - Free astrophotography practice data consists of pre-captured astronomical images — including light frames, dark frames, flat fields, and bias frames — shared by experienced astrophotographers to help beginners learn image stacking, calibration, and processing workflows on Mac or PC without owning t…
- [INDIGO A1: CloudMakers' All-in-One Mac Astrophotography Suite](https://macobservatory.com/indigo-a1-mac-astrophotography-suite-review.md) - CloudMakers' all-in-one native Mac astrophotography suite: camera control, autoguiding, mount control and plate solving, free with three $24.99 modules.
- [PixInsight on the Mac: The Definitive Deep Dive](https://macobservatory.com/pixinsight-on-the-mac-the-definitive-deep-dive.md) - The most powerful astrophotography processing tool ever built asks you to think like a scientist — not a photographer. Here's what Mac users need to know. Editorial Update · May 12, 2026 When this article published in April 2026, PixInsight ran on macOS only under Rosetta 2. That changed on May 12,…
- [Getting Started with Astrophotography on the Mac (2025–2026)](https://macobservatory.com/getting-started-with-astrophotography-on-the-mac-20252026.md) - Astrophotography on macOS has come a long way since the early days of “figure it out yourself.” In 2025, you can do serious deep-sky imaging on a Mac with modern capture, guiding, plate-solving, and processing tools—and (finally) planetary imaging has a much better Mac-native path for stacking and…
- [Space Station Passes: A Free, Ad-Free Way to Track Satellites](https://macobservatory.com/space-station-passes-a-free-ad-free-way-to-track-satellites.md) - There’s something magical about watching the International Space Station glide silently across the night sky. For many of us, those passes are a reminder of humanity’s constant presence in orbit and our curiosity to explore beyond Earth. Until now, keeping track of when and where to look has often…
- [Planet Stacker X: A macOS-Native Planetary Imaging Tool from Rain City Astro](https://macobservatory.com/planet-stacker-x-macos-planetary-imaging.md) - One of the long-standing frustrations for Mac-based astrophotographers has been the lack of native, high-quality stacking software tailored for planetary imaging. While Windows users enjoy a buffet of options like AutoStakkert! and RegiStax, macOS users have often found themselves patching together…
- [LuckyStackWorker: The Best Free Mac Software for Sharpening Planetary, Lunar, and Solar Astrophotography Images](https://macobservatory.com/luckystackworker-mac-planetary-software.md) - LuckyStackWorker is a powerful and free post-processing application designed specifically for planetary, lunar, and solar astrophotography. Available for macOS, Windows, and Linux, this open-source software streamlines the sharpening and denoising of stacked images, offering an efficient, automated…
- [Takahashi Epsilon 160D Review: A Modern Evolution in Wide-Field Astrographs](https://macobservatory.com/takahashi-epsilon-160d-review.md) - The Takahashi Epsilon 160D is a high-performance astrograph designed specifically for deep-sky imaging with modern digital CMOS cameras. Building upon the legacy of its predecessors, the 160D brings an improved optical system that prioritizes a flat field, sharp stars across large sensors, and a fa…
- [The Role of AI in Astrophotography Image Processing: Tools and Controversies](https://macobservatory.com/ai-astrophotography-image-processing.md) - Astrophotography has always been a challenging yet rewarding pursuit, requiring skillful image processing to bring out the finest details of celestial objects. Traditionally, tools like Adobe Photoshop, DeepSkyStacker, and PixInsight have been staples in the workflow. However, recent advancements i…
- [Harmonic Drive vs. Worm Gear Mounts: How Strain Wave Technology is Changing Astrophotography](https://macobservatory.com/harmonic-drive-vs-worm-gear-mounts.md) - Learn how Harmonic Drive mounts differ from traditional worm gear mounts, their impact on astrophotography performance, and an overview of popular models from ZWO, Sky-Watcher, Pegasus Astro, and more. Harmonic Drive mounts, also known as Strain Wave Gear mounts, have been gaining traction in the a…
- [Celestron EdgeHD 11 Review: The Ultimate Telescope for Planetary and Deep-Sky Astrophotography](https://macobservatory.com/celestron-edgehd-11-review.md) - A review of the Celestron EdgeHD 11” SCT, covering its optical performance, imaging versatility at f/10, f/7, and f/1.9, and the best accessories to enhance its capabilities. TheCelestron EdgeHD 11” Schmidt-Cassegrain Telescope(SCT) is an ambitious optical system designed for serious astronomers an…
- [Polar Alignment Guide for Motorized Telescope Mounts](https://macobservatory.com/polar-alignment-guide-telescope-mount.md) - Introduction: Why Polar Alignment Matters Polar alignment is one of the most critical steps in setting up a motorized telescope mount for astrophotography or visual astronomy. A properly aligned mount ensures accurate tracking of celestial objects, reducing drift and minimizing field rotation, whic…
- [Planetary System Stacker now has a launcher installer](https://macobservatory.com/planetary-system-stacker-now-has-a-launcher-installer.md) - A one-click launcher from developer Nick Kohrn gets Planetary System Stacker running on macOS without touching the terminal.
- [Seti Astro Scripts come to the Mac as a standalone application](https://macobservatory.com/seti-astro-scripts-mac-app.md) - The popular Seti Astro Scripts have now come to the Mac as a standalone application. If you don’t use PixInsight this suite of applications will give you access to some advanced features that can be quite helpful. I personally have used FindBackground, What’s In My Image, and Continuum Subtraction…
- [New Reflection Nebula Discovery: The Blue Ghost Nebula (Burwell 1)](https://macobservatory.com/blue-ghost-nebula-burwell-1-discovery.md) - In October 2023, I set out to photograph vdB 1. There are almost no wide field (990mm) images of vdB1 due to the fact that the star Caph is extremely bright. Most imagers focus on vdB1 itself. When processing this photograph, I noticed a bright reflection nebula towards the upper right-center of th…
- [Remote hosted telescope imaging](https://macobservatory.com/remote-hosted-telescope-imaging.md) - About three years ago, I started on a journey to get out of my back yard and image from dark skies with a permanent setup. I had been remote imaging to my back yard, but still setting up and tearing down my equipment each night. I had gone from using my 10Micron mount regularly to using my Rainbow…
- [Sky-Watcher Esprit 100ED Triplet Super APO Refractor Review](https://macobservatory.com/sky-watcher-esprit-100ed-triplet-super-app-refractor-review.md) - Before sitting down to write this review, I spent a lot of time thinking about who is the customer this telescope was designed to address. Due to inflation and supply chain issues during the Covid pandemic prices for the Esprit have increased to an MSRP of $3,210. Relatively new Chinese companies h…
- [A comparison of the Astro-Physics Mach2GTO and 10Micron GM1000HPS telescope mounts](https://macobservatory.com/mach2gto-vs-gm1000hps-mount-comparison.md) - I’m in the unique position of owning two premium mounts. TheAstro-Physics Mach2GTOand a10Micron GM1000HPS. I’m going to attempt to cover them in a fair way based on my experiences with both. Initially I thought about doing a review and declaring a winner, but in all honesty it’s not going to be fai…
- [First light with the Astro-Physics Mach2GTO](https://macobservatory.com/first-light-with-the-astro-physics-mach2gto.md) - I’ve been planning for more than a year now to get an observatory build going on some property my wife and I own. It’s not quite been started, but will very soon now. In prep for what will be a 12 x 16 foot dual pier observatory with roll off roof, I got another premium mount. I plan on using my 10…
- [ZWO ASIAIR Mini Review](https://macobservatory.com/zwo-asiair-mini-review.md) - Update, July 2026 This review was written in October 2022 with an early production unit. Three things have changed since. The price is now $249, not the $199 quoted below. The 2.0 software update previewed below shipped on 28 October 2022, the same day this review published. One of its changes was…
- [ZWO's ASIAir comes to the Mac](https://macobservatory.com/zwos-asiair-comes-to-the-mac.md) - The iOS only ASIAIr application has been converted to an M1 native Mac app If you are like me, and don’t want to leave an expensive Mac laptop outside in the humidity overnight, then the AIR is a great option. It’s nice to use it with an iPhone or iPad, but what about us laptop users? For some time…
- [Father's Day Astrophotography Gift guide](https://macobservatory.com/fathers-day-astrophotography-gift-guide.md) - It’s that time of the year where every father gets recognized. I seriously hope my kids pay attention! Whether you’re looking for the perfect gift for your father, or for yourself, I’ve tried to group some items into a few categories below that are useful. For the beginning astrophotographer: These…
- [Advanced Imaging Conference 2022](https://macobservatory.com/advanced-imaging-conference-2022.md) - I managed to get away and take a trip to San Jose for the Advanced Imaging Conference. This conference is a gathering specifically for astrophotographers. You’ll find all the essentials of a hobby based conference. There are a few new product announcements, vendors showing off their equipment, and…
- [INDIGO A1 (All-in-one) Mac Astrophotography Software Released](https://macobservatory.com/indigo-a1-all-in-one-mac-astrophotography-software-released.md) - For some time now, the folks over at Cloudmakers.eu have been working to combine all their separate Mac astrophotography applications into one single piece of software. It went through a beta period a month or two ago, and has finally made it into an initial release. This final software suite is ca…
- [How to remove sensor tilt from your astrophotography camera while indoors](https://macobservatory.com/remove-sensor-tilt-astrophotography-camera.md) - What is camera sensor tilt? This year marks my 6th year into the astrophotography hobby. Just about every camera I’ve owned has suffered from some kind of sensor tilt. Mass manufacturing methods without a good QC process inevitability end up with sensor tilt in the sensors. Sensor tilt occurs when…
- [Askar FMA135 Review: The Tiny Refractor](https://macobservatory.com/askar-fma135-review-the-tiny-refractor.md) - A 280g f/4.5 APO triplet that doubles as a guide scope. My deep sky results on an APS-C sensor, and how the corners actually hold up.
- [ZWO ASIAir Plus in-depth review](https://macobservatory.com/zwo-asiair-plus-in-depth-review.md) - What is the ASIAir Plus? The ASIAir Plusis the third generation ASIAir product from ZWO. It aims to replace your laptop or mini-pc at the telescope, and eliminate the need for additional software, USB hubs, power supplies, and wifi router. It can be used for DSO Imaging, and Planetary Imaging, and…
- [Project Dumbbell: First light with the Rainbow Astro RST-135E and Celestron EdgeHD 8"](https://macobservatory.com/rst-135e-edgehd-8-first-light.md) - Astrophotography Portability limitations This image of the Dumbbell nebula is the culmination of effort into a project I started months ago. My goal was to put together a long focal length highly compact travel rig. I had been using the standard RST-135 mount with a 100mm refractor and my RedCat. B…
- [Celestron EdgeHD 8"](https://macobservatory.com/celestron-edgehd-8.md) - The Challenges of Long Focal Length Imaging with an EdgeHD 8" As an early adopter of harmonic drive mounts (Rainbow Astro RST-135), I’ve had hopes to one day have a longer focal length setup to use with those mounts. In a way, I desired a portable long focal length imaging setup. The initial RST-13…
- [ZWO Camera Sale](https://macobservatory.com/zwo-camera-sale.md) - ZWO just started their summer sale with discounts on a lot of their popular cameras both for DSO imaging and planetary imaging. The sale includes everything from the ZWO ASI6200MM-Pro down to the ASI1600MM-Pro. Some even include kits with filters and filter wheels. The ASI294MM-Pro camera is a grea…
- [Using Topaz Denoise AI for Astrophotography](https://macobservatory.com/using-topaz-denoise-ai-for-astrophotography.md) - The debate over AI (artificial intelligence) based tools in astrophotography There’s amassive debatehappeningright nowacross astrophotographyInternet forumsover whether or not AI based tools should be used in processing your astro images.Topaz Denoise AIis chiefly at the front of the discussion bec…
- [Some Amazon Prime Day deals worth looking at for your telescope](https://macobservatory.com/amazon-prime-day-telescope-deals.md) - There’s a lot of less than stellar telescope items on sale at Amazon right now, but I’ll link to the ones I think would be worthwhile. Most of the telescopes are cheap knockoff plastic products not worth considering, but there are some decent accessories that might be worth your time. * SVBONY SV10…
- [What are astrophotography calibration frames, and why should I use them?](https://macobservatory.com/astrophotography-calibration-frames-guide.md) - Understanding Calibration Frames in Astrophotography: A Beginner's Guide When you get your start in astrophotography, the complexity can quickly become overwhelming. You’re often happy if you can capture an image at all, let alone a bunch of calibration frames. But calibration frames are an importa…
- [Imaging the moon with a Celestron C5 Spotting Scope](https://macobservatory.com/imaging-the-moon-with-a-celestron-c5-spotting-scope.md) - Taking Photos of the Moon This past week the moon was directly overhead. A cold front had just come through and cleared out the clouds giving us some good transparency and seeing here in the south. I swapped out my normal imaging scope (the SkyWatcher Esprit 100) for my Celestron C5 Spotting scope.…
- [QuickFits 1.0 released with Finder QuickLook for Fits files](https://macobservatory.com/quickfits-10-released-with-finder-quicklook-for-fits-files.md) - QuickFits is a nice little application for the Mac that will debayer, auto stretch and preview your images right from the finder. This makes for a very nice way to “blink” through your images as you take them and inspect for possible rejects or anomalies you might have captured. It will also read t…
- [Affinity Photo 1.9 adds astrophotography workflow support with stacking and calibration](https://macobservatory.com/affinity-photo-astrophotography-stacking.md) - A new astrophotography processing contenderAffinity Photohas entered the Mac…and PC race. Affinity introduced it’s suite of applications to compete against Adobe Photoshop, Indesign, Illustrator a few years ago. They are extremely capable applications and in their effort to remain competitive come…
- [Remote astrophotography with a portable setup: traveling to a dark site](https://macobservatory.com/portable-astrophotography-dark-site.md) - For some time now, I had been planning on taking myportable astrophotography rigto a dark site. During the Thanksgiving holiday, my family and I thought we would do the best kind of social distancing during this pandemic, and that was to rent a home in Santa Fe, New Mexico. This home bordered on th…
- [Review of the ZWO ASI294MM-Pro camera](https://macobservatory.com/review-of-the-zwo-asi294mm-pro-camera.md) - ZWO recently surprised everyone by announcing a camera no one thought would arrive. A new micro 4/3 sensor based mono camera called theZWO ASI294MM-Pro. This camera is based off the similar color sensor cameraZWO ASI294MC-Pro. In this review, I’ll cover what’s new, what’s better, and what could hav…
- [Review of the ZWO ASI6200MM-Pro camera](https://macobservatory.com/review-of-the-zwo-asi6200mm-pro-camera.md) - Some time, earlier in the year, I made the decision to move to full frame imaging. Full frame, is essentially an uncropped DSLR sensor like you would find in a high end Canon, Nikon or Sony camera. In fact, the sensor insideZWO’s ASI6200MM-Prois a mono version of the image sensor used in Sony’s A7R…
- [Imaging with the ZWO Duo-band filter for color astrophotography cameras.](https://macobservatory.com/zwo-duo-band-filter-review.md) - While waiting for the adapter to connect up my ASI6200MM-P camera and filter wheel, I've been experimenting with theZWO Duo-band filterthat ZWO gave away free with purchase of theASI2600MC-P(during product launch) when I got it early in the year. According to the ZWO website the HA cutoff is 15nm,…
- [First light with the Sky-Watcher Esprit 100ED](https://macobservatory.com/first-light-with-the-sky-watcher-esprit-100ed.md) - Imaging Full Frame I recently decided to start imaging with a full frame sensor. TheZWO ASI6200MM-Pro. Previously I had been using aZWO ASI1600MM-Pro, while still an incredible camera, I’ve always been bothered by the micro lens effect of that specific chip. Apparently the best way to accomplish us…
- [The Growing List of Mac Planetary Imaging and Processing Applications](https://macobservatory.com/mac-planetary-imaging-software.md) - AutoStakkert has no Mac version. It never has, and the developer says there are no plans for one: the official download page states the software is Windows only, runs under Wine on Linux and macOS, and that native versions are not coming. So if you searched for "AutoStakkert for Mac" and found a pi…
- [Imaging Comet Neowise with AstroImager on the Mac](https://macobservatory.com/imaging-comet-neowise-with-astroimager-on-the-mac.md) - I’ve had only two opportunities to see and get images of comet C/2020 F3 Neowise. The first time out I wasn’t sure I’d be able to see it at all, and I only used my DSLR and a 250mm lens. I shot wide first to try and find it. Once I saw where it was I was able to snap a few images of it untracked on…
- [Adventurers with the Sky-Watcher Star Adventurer](https://macobservatory.com/adventurers-with-the-sky-watcher-star-adventurer.md) - Traveling with the Star Adventurer Last month, I finally got an opportunity to travel with mySky-Watcher Star Adventurer Pro Pack, and myCanon T3i DSLRas my only rig. It was a family outing to west Texas nearGarner State Parkwhere the skies are around Bortle class 1 or 2. There, the Milky Way looks…
- [A modern, portable, astrophotography setup with the Rainbow Astro RST-135](https://macobservatory.com/rainbow-astro-rst-135-portable-setup.md) - I’ve had in my possession aCelestron Advanced VX(my first astrophotography mount), aniOptron Cube Proas a visual grab and goto mount, and aSky-Watcher Star Adventurer Pro. The AVX has a 30 lb capacity, which makes it fairly capable with scopes under 5”. I’ve had a lot of fun imaging with it. The Cu…
- [Apple announces ARM CPU based Macs](https://macobservatory.com/apple-announces-arm-cpu-based-macs.md) - What does this mean for Astrophotography? Good news. Likely not much. While the two CPUs are not compatible from a software standpoint, Apple is providing an emulation layer that will keep compatibility on both platforms. Intel based Macs will work long into the future. Apple is providing the abili…
- [Observatory Astronomical Image Library updated to 1.5.1](https://macobservatory.com/observatory-astronomical-image-library-updated-to-151.md) - Sander hasjust updatedhis Mac astronomical image cataloging application with some cool new features. You can now filter your image library by 21 new criteria, creating smart filters to filter by object type, equipment used, etc. How cool. Get it here in the Mac App Store. New * New smart album crit…
- [Remote telescope imaging on the Mac or PC using a Raspberry Pi](https://macobservatory.com/raspberry-pi-remote-telescope-imaging.md) - This tutorial is the second part of a tutorial I wrote a few weeks ago.In the first part, I covered how to set up a Raspberry Pi unit with StellarMate or Astroberry disk images to use those devices for imaging remotely. In that tutorial, I show how to install the software, and configure the devices…
- [Observer Pro 1.3 for iPhone released](https://macobservatory.com/observer-pro-13-for-iphone-released.md) - I love this app, and have been using it for some time. Joshua Bury is the developer, and over the last few months he’s been busy updating the software to run on larger phones and adopt some of the new OS features like light and dark mode. I use this app to find objects that have the best visibility…
- [Setting up the Raspberry Pi for Remote Telescope Imaging over your home network](https://macobservatory.com/raspberry-pi-telescope-network-setup.md) - This is part one of a two part series on remote imaging in your back yard. It’s difficult to brave the mosquitos at night. It’s also difficult to stay out in freezing weather for long periods. You want to maximize your imaging time, and you need sleep each night. The best solution to all these issu…
- [How the Telescope Field of View Affects Equipment and Object Selection](https://macobservatory.com/how-the-telescope-field-of-view-effects-object-selection.md) - Your field of view (FOV) is the view your telescope has of the star field in the night sky. Telescope and camera selection has an effect on your FOV and in turn the size of object that’s suited for imaging with that combination. In the example above, I have 5 of my telescopes paired with a single c…
- [Imaging a Kaleidoscope of colors on the North American Nebula](https://macobservatory.com/north-american-nebula-imaging.md) - I recently came across a directory full of images labeled HD199479, which just happens to be the name of the bright star right at the very center of the above image. The North American Nebula. I had about 3 hours of color data imaged with my RedCat 51 telescope, and the ZWO ASI1600MM-C camera. I pr…
- [Basically I was just interviewed on the Mac Power Users podcast](https://macobservatory.com/mac-power-users-podcast-interview.md) - …where I basically say basically about a thousand times. It’s all good though. A few more podcasts and I’ll be a pro. Don’t they say you’re always your own worst critic? But if you can get past that, there’s some good info in there for beginners. I tried to not get overly technical, so hopefully it…
- [5 things to consider if you're interested in astrophotography](https://macobservatory.com/5-things-to-consider-if-youre-interested-in-astrophotography.md) - The setup shown above is what I could consider a rather advanced setup. In all likelihood you’ll start in this hobby with a much simpler setup. Astrophotography is fairly easy to get into, but it’s difficult to master. It does not require very complex hardware at the start. In fact, you can start w…
- [Review of the ZWO ASI2600MC-Pro astrophotography camera](https://macobservatory.com/zwo-asi2600mc-pro-review.md) - Fans of ZWO Optical have been waiting patiently all year as new cameras were announced, and they slowly proceeded through the QA/QC and final manufacturing process. It just so happens that theZWO ASI2600MC-Procamera released during galaxy season when I have my largerCelestron EdgeHD 11”telescope ou…
- [A new year, new mount, new camera, new scope.](https://macobservatory.com/a-new-year-new-mount-new-camera-new-scope.md) - Late last year as galaxy season began to start, I got out my EdgeHD 11 scope to start shooting those small targets. I had been using the Celestron CGX for almost a year at that point, but hadn’t used it very much with my Edge. I was finding it difficult to get perfectly round stars, especially in t…
- [Imaging with the William Optics RedCat 51, achieving great images with beginner equipment](https://macobservatory.com/william-optics-redcat-51-beginner-imaging.md) - I recently picked up a10Micron GM1000 HPS mount. It’s a serious piece of equipment, but not responsible for these images. A lot of people tend to believe, big gear equals big results. But believe it or not, these images were taken with some very beginner equipment. Quality images don’t necessarily…
- [Upgraded to the Pegasus Astro Ultimate Powerbox V2](https://macobservatory.com/upgraded-to-the-pegasus-astro-ultimate-powerbox-v2.md) - There’s a few reasons I’ve made some resent upgrades to my equipment. A few weeks ago I had set up for a night of imaging. I religiously check the weather for any incoming rain, and if there’s even the slightest chance I don’t image. Well, this particular night It was crystal clear, no chance of ra…
- [The tale of the Cocoon Nebula in three images.](https://macobservatory.com/the-tale-of-the-cocoon-nebula-in-three-images.md) - I started imaging the Cocoon Nebula on myEdgeHD 11” setupsome time last week. I was able to get in two full nights during clear weather. As I image, I start to get excited about how the final image will turn out. So I always try and process the images I take each night as I finish them. This allows…
- [The RedCat 51 has reached its final form](https://macobservatory.com/the-redcat-51-has-reached-its-final-form.md) - I’ve finally finished getting all the pieces together for this little scope. Pictured here is the William Optics RedCat 51 refractor telescope,Celestron CGXmount,ZWO ASI1600MM-Cmain camera,ZWO ASI120MM Miniguide camera, ZWO Mini Guide Scope,ZWO 8-slot electronic filter wheelwith LRGB and 5nm narrow…
- [William Optics RedCat 51](https://macobservatory.com/william-optics-redcat-51.md) - I’ve been really interested in theWilliam Optics RedCat 51since the original announcement. A few web bloggers got ahold of early versions of this scope, and took some really fantastic wide field images with it. Once the scope finally released early reports from purchasers showed lots of issues. Poo…
- [Mac Observatory is on Instagram!](https://macobservatory.com/mac-observatory-is-on-instagram.md) - I finally set up an Instagram account. I’ll be posting my images there, but will still post them here on the site as well. I’m hoping to take more images of my different imaging setups as I image each night. I’ve got a new scope, and you can see it over on Instagram.https://www.instagram.com/macobs…
- [Using Astro Pixel Processor to calibrate and integrate multiple imaging sessions](https://macobservatory.com/astro-pixel-processor-multi-session-tutorial.md) - The beautiful thing about astrophotography is that the effects of imaging are additive. You can essentially shoot the same object, night after night, even with different cameras and telescopes, and combine all the images into one fantastic final image. But, some careful attention needs to be paid t…
- [Breathing new life into M101](https://macobservatory.com/breathing-new-life-into-m101.md) - One really cool aspect of imaging deep sky objects is that the photons of light come into the camera randomly. This makes it possible to image the same object with different equipment (cameras, telescopes, etc) multiple times across multiple years, and combine all that data for an additive effect.…
- [Imaging Star Clusters with the AT6RC and the ZWO ASI071MC-Pro](https://macobservatory.com/star-cluster-imaging-at6rc-asi071mc.md) - I spent a few nights this week trying out my color camera, the ZWO ASI071MC-Pro on the AT6RC. I really love the pixel scale achieved here with the combination. It provides very nice resolution and a moderate field of view. I managed to divide my time between the two clusters. Four hours or so on M5…
- [Imaging M51 Whirlpool Galaxy with the ZWO ASI071MC-Pro](https://macobservatory.com/imaging-m51-whirlpool-galaxy-with-the-zwo-asi071mc-pro.md) - After a rocky start with my EdgeHD 11 telescope, I decided to move the main imaging camera over to the AT6RC telescope I have. It actually pairs very well, and produces 1.1 arc seconds of resolution, which is spot on for this scope. Imaging has been interesting, as there were some rings in my image…
- [Celestron EdgeHD 11"](https://macobservatory.com/celestron-edgehd-11.md) - Going Big The EdgeHD 11" represents a significant step up in aperture and focal length from the 6" Ritchey-Chrétien I had been using. At native 2800mm and f/10, with the option of a 0.7x reducer bringing it to f/7 (~1960mm), this telescope opens up small galaxies and planetary nebulae that simply c…
- [First light with the EdgeHD 11"](https://macobservatory.com/first-light-with-the-edgehd-11.md) - It’s been a few weeks since I picked up the used EdgeHD 11” SCT. And in that time I made some final hardware decisions for the camera, and other gear. In the end, I got the Moonlite CHL Large format Edge focuser. It’s low profile to take up as little back space as possible. The Edge has a generous…
- [AstroPixel Processor 1.072 Released](https://macobservatory.com/astropixel-processor-1072-released.md) - The latest version of Astro Pixel Processor has been released. Lots of support for Sony cameras has been added. Improved Drizzle/Bayer Drizzle. Lots of changes and improvements to * Image EXIF data, * console panel * progress monitors * Improved loading for frames * fixed some memory issues * dynam…
- [KStars/EKOS 3.1 is released!](https://macobservatory.com/kstarsekos-31-is-released.md) - An update to my current favorite imaging platform has been released. In this release there’s a bunch of 3.0 fixes as well as a hand full of new features. * Fixes to the scheduler to cover some multi-object multi-night scheduling. * Ring-field focusing, an improvement to star selection methods for f…
- [Celestron CGX and EdgeHD 11" Schmidt Cassegrain](https://macobservatory.com/celestron-cgx-and-edgehd-11-schmidt-cassegrain.md) - GOING BIG This past holiday, I received a Celestron CGX for Christmas. You might have seen photos of it pop up on some of my other equipment pages. I knew, once I upgraded from the AVX to a mount with more capacity, it was only a matter of time before a large aperture scope entered the picture. Int…
- [Astro Pixel Processor 1.071 released](https://macobservatory.com/astro-pixel-processor-1071-released.md) - This version includes a bunch of new fixes and features. * IMPROVED, access to license server * IMPROVED/FIXED, star analysis & registration * FIXED, Calibration AMP-GLOW * FIXED, Sorting of frames on analytical data * FIXED, IMPROVED, charting analytical data * ADJUSTED, METADATA saved frames For…
- [Removing light pollution with Astro Pixel Processor](https://macobservatory.com/removing-light-pollution-with-astro-pixel-processor.md) - The above screenshot is what my Luminance data looks like after a few nights of imaging the same object. In this particular image I was shooting LRGB with a mono camera. So this is just one filter. But the process I’m about to describe covers removing light pollution from any image. This could be l…
- [Sometimes...all you need to do is reprocess your data](https://macobservatory.com/sometimesall-you-need-to-do-is-reprocess-your-data.md) - It often pays to revisit older images you’ve captured. I was never very happy with the processing job I did originally on the Pacman Nebula. It was hastily done the first time. I shot it over multiple days, and cropped it in pretty tight for the final version originally. When I reprocessed this, I…
- [Asteroid or satellite?](https://macobservatory.com/asteroid-or-satellite.md) - I managed to catch this on my guide scope with the ZWO ASI290mm camera as I was trying to focus it better. I saw a small moving object and hit record. Usually when I catch stuff like this, it just appears as a streak across a 3 minute frame. So, I was happy to catch this celestial object…whatever i…
- [The bloodiest of moons.](https://macobservatory.com/the-bloodiest-of-moons.md) - As most people did last week, I managed to get outside and catch the Blood Moon. I came prepared. I had two telescope setups and my Canon T3i DSLR. I managed to rummage through my bin of unused telescope parts and came across an old T-Adapter for the Canon that allowed me to attach it directly to t…
- [Revisiting IC 417 on the ES 102mm](https://macobservatory.com/revisiting-ic-417-on-the-es-102mm.md) - I decided to revisit IC 417 but this time with a wider field of view. The image was previously taken with my AT6RC, and it focused primarily on IC 417. But this time I was able to frame it such that I also got the open cluster NGC 1907, as well as the smaller nebula below IC 417, NGC 1931. I’m real…
- [Narrowband Imaging IC410 and IC417](https://macobservatory.com/narrowband-imaging-ic410-and-ic417.md) - Over the last two weeks, I’ve had 3 imaging nights. KStars & EKOS 3.0 were released which fixed a ton of long standing issues with the scheduler. In addition to that nice software update, I got a Celestron CGX for Christmas! So, those two things combined and I set my sights on the only northern reg…

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