Capturing the Cosmos

My path into astrophotography became official in 2023 with a smart telescope — the Vespera II. While it wasn’t the beginning of my fascination with the night sky, it was the moment where things truly clicked. Seeing what was possible with modern capture and automated stacking opened the door to a deeper curiosity: not just what could be captured, but how the data was formed, processed, and improved.

That first experience sparked an interest in the technical side of deep-sky imaging — signal, noise, calibration, and processing workflows. I found myself spending as much time learning how images were built as I did capturing them, experimenting with different approaches and gradually understanding the trade-offs behind every decision.

In early 2025, I moved to a full imaging setup at home, alongside a dedicated planetary telescope. This marked a shift toward more hands-on control: managing equipment, refining acquisition strategies, and gaining a better understanding of how hardware, conditions, and processing all intersect.

Later that same year, I assembled a primary imaging rig designed for remote operation and shipped it to Starfront Observatories. With access to consistently dark skies, remote imaging became the foundation of my current workflow — enabling longer integrations and more reliable data collection than home conditions typically allow.

Today, most of my deep-sky imaging comes from Starfront, but I still enjoy getting out under the stars whenever I can. I regularly bring my Celestron 8" to star parties, and when time and conditions line up, I’ll take my portable setups out to darker skies with friends. Each of these environments offers something different, and together they continue to shape how I approach both capture and processing.