Astro Color Mixer Video 2 is live. As promised... This one gets into the real power of the PixInsight script: selecting color bands, shaping Hue Radius/Feather, and using Range Masks to target brightness. youtu.be/xXGrZQV4rgs #Astrophotography #PixInsight

Better color control in PixInsight? I built Astro Color Mixer, a FREE PixInsight script for late-stage RGB color refinement in astrophotography. Looking for Beta Testers - feedback requested! Video 1: overview + first use: youtu.be/23xBVRW_ojE #PixInsight #Astrophotography #astronomy

Not every deep-sky target is large and dramatic. Hickson 61, “The Box,” is tiny, faint, distant, and easy to overlook — but that is exactly what makes it fascinating. New imaging project: cosgrovescosmos.com/projects/hic... #astrophotography #astronomy #imageprocessing

How long should your astro exposures be? I made a video walkthrough of my free Astro Exposure Explorer tool — read noise, shot noise, sky background, saturation, overhead, and practical exposure ranges. youtu.be/kLH4_ee5cgc #astrophotography #astronomy

The Leo Triplet has a hidden extra: a faint tidal tail pulled from NGC 3628 by galactic interaction. Here is my new 12.6-hour LRGB image, with M65, M66, NGC 3628, and NGC 3593. Full project and processing details here: cosgrovescosmos.com/projects/leo... #astrophotography #astronomy

New video: Astro Systems Comparison Tool walkthrough. I show how the tool compares two imaging systems on shared terms and what is actually driving the result — optics, detector/filter response, sky, and seeing-limited detail. Mono vs OSC included. youtu.be/5FSjDzmxXc8 #Astrophotography

M94 — The Crocodile Eye Galaxy. A bright, compact spiral galaxy ~ 16 M light-years away, w/ a vivid core, star-forming inner ring, & faint extended disk. ~13 hrs LRGB. Whispering Skies Observatory. Details/Precessing walk-through: cosgrovescosmos.com/projects/m94... #astrophotography #astronomy

M104, the Sombrero Galaxy, is one of the classic spring targets — bright core, sharp dust lane, and that unmistakable hat-like profile. My new 11-hour LRGB project from Whispering Skies Observatory is now posted: cosgrovescosmos.com/projects/m10... #astrophotography #astronomy

Astro Exposure Explorer is now live on Cosgrove’s Cosmos! A free app to plan Astro Sub Exposures. Too short, & RN + overhead hurt you. Too long - you risk star saturation & wasted well depth from rising sky background. Find the sweet spot. cosgrovescosmos.com/astro-exposu... #astrophotography

My NGC 2174 (Monkey Head Nebula) image was published in the May 2026 issue of BBC Sky at Night Magazine—thrilled to see it in print! Narrowband SHO (Ha/OIII/SII) from Orion, with full capture + processing notes here: cosgrovescosmos.com/projects/ngc... #astrophotography #astronomy

First light for my AP155 platform is in the books! I pointed it at M81, M82, and NGC 3077 for a proper shakedown cruise & came away w/ a result I’m pretty happy with - despite the short integration! Full project write-up here: cosgrovescosmos.com/projects/m81... #astrophotography #astronomy

A while back, I posted on the fan problem in my ZWO ASI2600MM-Pro. Here is a video companion post. Turns out my “mysterious vibration" issue was a thrown fan blade. Apparently, my camera felt it was time to explore interpretive dance. youtu.be/ipZkqhsVffA #astrophotography #astronomy

How much exposure on one astro rig equals 10 hours on another? I built a free comparison tool to answer that — with optics, QE, filters, sky, mono/OSC, and broadband/narrowband all in the model. Try it: cosgrovescosmos.com/software-too... #astrophotography

My ASI2600MM-Pro developed a loud vibrating fan & the cause was a thrown blade. I documented the teardown, identified the original fan, compared replacements, & looked at vibration fixes for astro cameras. See the post here: cosgrovescosmos.com/astrogear/ca... #astrophotography #Astronomy

New video is up on Cosgrove’s Cosmos. This one covers the conversion of my AP130 platform to an AP155 platform — much more than just mounting a new OTA. If you like the gear side of astrophotography gear, I think you’ll enjoy this one. youtu.be/oqLwUUrGWow #Astrophotography #Astronomy

W/ my project to convert my AP130 platform to the AP155, I began to dial in things in. Then - loud fan noise & physical vibrations from my ASI2600MM-Pro! I have 4 2600's & this is a 1st for me. Investigation showed the fan had thrown a blade! Replacement is 3+ wks out! #Astrophotography

I recently shared details of the countertops & cabinets I installed on the N wall of my observatory. Some thought this was overkill. Not at all! Here is my first project on it, converting my AP130 platform over to an AP155! Just big enough! #astrophotography

New tool on Cosgrove’s Cosmos: The Telescope Platform Card Builder! Create a polished downloadable card for your imaging rig w/ gear details, images, & computed values. Free to use, and I’d appreciate feedback. You can see it here: cosgrovescosmos.com/astrogear/pl... #astrophotography

Upgrading my Astro-Physics 130mm EDT f/8.35 platform to its big brother, the Astro-Pysics 155mm EDFS w/0.75X reducer @ f/5.3. I also added a Wanderer Cover V4 EC 190mm to this. See the build sequence here: cosgrovescosmos.com/astrogear/ap... #Astrophotography #Astronomy #Telescope

What Kind of Astrophotographer Am I? (What Kind Are You?) I was trying to find a way to summarize this for myself, and I ended up w/ a little summary panel & Radar Plot. See this here & see what you think - make one for yourself! cosgrovescosmos.com/what-kind-of... #astrophotography

I just upgraded my Askar FRA400 Telescope platform with a new ASI2600MM-Pro Camera & a Wanderer Astro V4-EC 125mm Motorized Cover. A full post documenting the upgrade process can be seen here: cosgrovescosmos.com/astrogear/fp... #astrophotography #telescope

I have also created a Quick Start Resource Guide for those new to Astronomy. You can see that here: cosgrovescosmos.com/resources/st... Please review & suggest improvements! Thanks!

Astrophotographers - Help Needed! I've been building an astronomy & astrophotography resource list for years now. I recently curated a 'quick start' list for beginning imagers. Could you review & suggest improvements? See it here: cosgrovescosmos.com/resources/st... Thanks! #astrophotography

Less Saw Dust, More Photons! You've seen my build videos for the Whispering Skies Observatory. This one is an overview of the final product. cosgrovescosmos.com/astrogear/wh... #astrophotography #Observatory

Why 4 telescopes? One is never enough, 8 is a... problem. 😄 Here’s how I built a four-platform observatory “arsenal” — the role of each scope and how the set covers everything from wide nebulae to tight galaxy framing. cosgrovescosmos.com/astrogear/ov... #astrophotography #observatory #astronomy

Cosgrove’s Cosmos Resource Hub is upgraded! Cleaner layout + focused sections for observers & imagers: targets/catalogs, sky events, gear, software/processing, and more. Bookmark it: cosgrovescosmos.com/resource-hub #astronomy #astrophotography

A companion video to my post on transforming the N wall of my Whispering Skies Observatory has now been published on my YouTube Channel! This describes the background to this build & shows the build itself! See it here: youtu.be/01tFTLSVj3U #astrophotography #observatory

NGC 2174 — the Monkey Head Nebula — is live on Cosgrove’s Cosmos. 5.1 Hours in SHO. Captured as a “bonus target” after my primary target set - love those long Oct nights! Full capture details + processing walkthrough here: cosgrovescosmos.com/projects/ngc... #Astrophotography #astronomy

The Feb Issue of Astronomy Mag came out today, featuring my image of SH2-124! Thanks, Astronomy Mag! See the imaging project for this image here: cosgrovescosmos.com/projects/sh2... #astrophotography

Happy New Year! May 2026 be filled with clear dark skies and maybe even a few new stro toys for us all! #astrophotography #astronomy

2025 has been a great year! - Observatory complete & operational - 22 imaging projects completed - 9 images published! - Much fun had! Hope everyone has a great 2026! Clear Skies! Pat #Astrophotography #astronomy

New Whispering Skies Observatory Update: A north wall transfomation w/ cabinets, counters, wall storage, & under-cabinet lighting! Full design + install details: cosgrovescosmos.com/observatory/... #observatory

A Christmas Surprise! Amateur Astronomy Magazine - Winter 2026 Issue #129 was published, featuring 2 of my Images! SH2-171 - The Teddy Bear Nebula & IC5070 - the Pelican Nebula! #astrophotography #astronomy

Season's Greetings from Cosgrove's Cosmos! I hope everyone has a happy, healthy, and safe Christmas and New Year!

Orion never disappoints: B33 is pure silhouette drama on IC 434, & NGC 2024 looks like glowing embers behind a dust veil. 6 hrs of HaLRGB from Whispering Skies Observatory. Project page w/ full processing details: cosgrovescosmos.com/projects/b33... #astrophotography #deepsky #Orion #astronomy

Orion widefield: M42, M43 & the Running Man. Captured with my FRA400 /ASI1600MM/AM5: 6h 21m LRGB+Ha Short+long RGB to hold the core, Ha for structure. Full story & Processing details: cosgrovescosmos.com/projects/m42... #Astrophotography #OrionNebula

Stephan’s Quintet has finally fallen to the Sharpstar 260 V2! 🔭 Four galaxies in a real gravitational brawl, plus one foreground impostor, captured in ~24h of LRGB from Whispering Skies Observatory. Full story & processing details: cosgrovescosmos.com/projects/ste... #astrophotography #astronomy

Sh2-171 – the “Teddy Bear Nebula” in Cepheus. 33.5 hrs of SHO data w/ an AP 130mm EDT & ASI2600MM-Pro reveal the dark spider-web dust of LDN 1268 + sculpted pillars carved by the young cluster Berkeley 59. Full story and details: cosgrovescosmos.com/projects/sh2... #astrophotography #astronomy

34.5 hours in SHOrgb on Sh2-157 (the Lobster Claw) w/ the Bubble Nebula in frame! Captured over 5 nights in Oct w/ FRA400/ASI1600/AM5 and processed in PixInsight. Full story, workflow + annotations: cosgrovescosmos.com/projects/sh2... #Astrophotography #Sh2157 #SHO #ZWO #Askar #astronomy

NGC 7380 – the Wizard Nebula revisited - this time w/25 hrs of SHOrgb! Captured from Whispering Skies Observatory in Western NY. See the full image & processing walkthrough 👉 cosgrovescosmos.com/projects/ngc... #Astrophotography #WizardNebula #CosgrovesCosmos #SHOrgb

Metablog #15 published on Cosgrove's Cosmos! Lots going on! Observatory online, 16 projects completed, features in BBC S@N, Amateur Astronomy, & RMSC’s “Astro Pillars,” & a custom ASSOS cycling jersey. Plus site upgrades! cosgrovescosmos.com/metablog/upd... #astrophotography #astronomy

I'm thrilled to share that my image of Markarian's Chain has been featured in @bbcskyatnight 's November 2025 issue! The original image can be seen here: cosgrovescosmos.com/projects/mar... This was 4.6 hrs of LRGB on my FRA400 platform. #Astrophotography

It's been a while since I posted an update on the Whispering Skies observatory project—for good reason: I've been busy imaging! But here's a recent update on some small projects and future ones planned: youtu.be/n2PlMcR0enE #astrophotography #observatory #astronomy

A new Imaging Project has been published on my website! Barnard 150 - The Seahorse Nebula (18.3 hrs LRGB) This was a bear to process because I used the wrong scope for this target! Full details, including process walkthu here: cosgrovescosmos.com/projects/b15... #astrophotography #astronomy

I'm pleased to share that two of my recent images were published in the Fall 2025 Issue of Amateur Astronomy Magazine: my shot of LDN 1235 - The Shark Nebula in LRGB, and my shot of M17 in SHOrgb! #astrophotography #astronomy

Thanks, BBC Sky At Night, for publishing my image of SH2-54m in the Serpent Nebula in their October 2025 issue! The original project post with all details can be seen here: cosgrovescosmos.com/projects/sh2... #astrophotography #astronomy

A new imaging Project has been posted to my Website! SH2-155 - The Cave Nebula - 13.5 hrs SHO (my 150th project!) Shot on my Sharpstar SCA260V2 & ASI2600MM-Pro & IOptron CEM70 mount. Full story and detailed processing walkthru: cosgrovescosmos.com/projects/sh2... #astrophotography #astronomy

A new imaging project has just been published on my website! LDN 1251 - The Rotten Fish Nebula (19 hrs in LRGB) Shot on my Askar FRA400 Platform w/ASI1600MM-Pro Camera & AM5 mount. Full story & detailed processing walkthru: cosgrovescosmos.com/projects/ldn... #Astrophotography #astronomy

IC 5070 - The Pelican Nebula (18.75 hrs in SHO) Just published on my website! I had 21+ hrs but thin clouds caused me to cull a full 2+ hours! Ouch! Full story and processing walkthru here: cosgrovescosmos.com/projects/ic5... #Astrophotography #astronomy