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<v Eric>Welcome to Backfocus, bringing astronomy together.

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<v Eric>I'm Eric.

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<v Rowan>And I'm Rowan.

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<v Eric>And thank you for joining me for my very first episode.

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<v Eric>Whether you're an experienced astrophotographer,

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<v Eric>a visual observer, a telescope maker,

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<v Eric>a member of an astronomy club,

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<v Eric>or someone who's just beginning to look up

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<v Eric>at the night sky, this podcast is for you.

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<v Rowan>I cannot overstate the importance

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<v Rowan>that this is a place of learning.

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<v Rowan>Many of us here are brand new

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<v Rowan>to just the idea of astrophotography.

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<v Rowan>And I myself am still learning every day.

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<v Rowan>And I hope that you'll join me with that process.

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<v Eric>First off, I'd like to talk about what Backfocus is.

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<v Eric>This is a dream of mine that I've had for quite a while

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<v Eric>in getting involved in astronomy and astrophotography.

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<v Eric>I've been doing astronomy and astrophotography

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<v Eric>for just a little over a year.

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<v Eric>And when I first got started,

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<v Eric>I had a DSLR camera.

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<v Eric>That's all I had.

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<v Eric>And I went out and bought a nice lens, a Rokinon lens.

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<v Eric>And I went out and bought a Star Adventure

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<v Eric>two-eye tracking mount.

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<v Eric>And I was not happy with my experience.

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<v Eric>So I joined up with another group of astronomers near me

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<v Eric>with Chagrin Valley Astronomical Society.

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<v Eric>After this point, I slowly began to build up

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<v Eric>both my experience and my equipment

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<v Eric>to kind of get myself up to a higher level

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<v Eric>that I was happy with.

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<v Eric>Now, for some people, they're happy with a DSLR

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<v Eric>and they're happy with not having to process images.

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<v Eric>Some people are happy with just having a telescope

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<v Eric>to look at the night sky and see the stars

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<v Eric>and be able to say, I found that object.

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<v Eric>I looked up at the sky and that object

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<v Eric>I was looking for, I actually found it myself

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<v Eric>that literally puts goosebumps on my skin

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<v Eric>every single time it happens.

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<v Eric>And I now have an F4 six-inch telescope.

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<v Eric>I have a Rokinon entire set up for Nebulae photography.

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<v Eric>I have an eight-inch Dobsonian.

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<v Eric>I have several other pieces of equipment,

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<v Eric>including a 10-inch, 18-inch Newtonian coming as well.

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<v Eric>And my experience has shown me that being in astronomy

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<v Eric>is fun, but it's not nearly as fun

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<v Eric>as being in astronomy with other people.

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<v Rowan>Now, unlike Eric, I did not have the freedom

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<v Rowan>of just being able to buy everything I wanted

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<v Rowan>right from the get-go.

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<v Rowan>My first telescope actually was inherited from my uncle.

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<v Rowan>When he passed away, he left me a decent telescope

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<v Rowan>and a bunch of different sky maps.

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<v Rowan>He had one for every month dating as far back as 2007.

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<v Rowan>He had been doing this for most of his life.

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<v Rowan>And to this point, you know,

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<v Rowan>I've kept up with those star maps even now.

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<v Eric>I can't tell you guys how much fun it was

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<v Eric>to be frustrated at Observatory Park in Montville, Ohio

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<v Eric>and not knowing what to do.

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<v Eric>And turning to the guides on my left and saying,

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<v Eric>hey, do you know how to work this stupid mount?

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<v Eric>I can't figure it out.

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<v Eric>And that guy is saying, yeah,

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<v Eric>I had that stupid mount before too.

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<v Eric>This is exactly what you have to do.

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<v Eric>And he showed me hand and foot what to do with this mount.

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<v Eric>And it was mind-blowing to me

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<v Eric>that people like that even existed.

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<v Eric>And that's something that I see in this hobby

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<v Eric>over and over and over again

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<v Eric>is not only are people interested about their hobby,

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<v Eric>not only are they interested about talking about their hobby,

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<v Eric>but they're interested in helping others

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<v Eric>learn about their hobby as well.

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<v Eric>And that is what this podcast is all about.

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<v Eric>The reason why back focus exists

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<v Eric>is because of something that happened recently

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<v Eric>where we have an annual event called the OTAA,

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<v Eric>which is supposed to be an event

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<v Eric>for all the clubs in Northeast Ohio.

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<v Eric>And only maybe two clubs came out to the event.

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<v Eric>And I remember seeing another YouTuber's video

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<v Eric>and saying, hey, he's the president

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<v Eric>of one of the other groups in our area.

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<v Eric>Let me talk to him and invite him to this event.

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<v Eric>He said he's never heard of it before.

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<v Eric>And that blew my mind

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<v Eric>because I know that I invited their group.

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<v Eric>I'm the secretary of CVAS now.

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<v Eric>And I know that I invited their group,

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<v Eric>but none of them showed up.

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<v Eric>And that's one of the things that I am frustrated about

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<v Eric>is that we have so many people who love this hobby,

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<v Eric>but they have no idea how to connect.

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<v Eric>They have no idea who all is around them,

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<v Eric>who loves this hobby too.

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<v Eric>So the mission and the goal and the purpose of back focus

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<v Eric>is to bring everyone together.

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<v Eric>And as a matter of fact,

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<v Eric>that back focus name comes from the aspect of focus

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<v Eric>when you have a camera and a telescope together.

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<v Eric>There comes a singular point

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<v Eric>where light comes to a single focus

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<v Eric>and that's where your camera needs to be at

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<v Eric>to get a clear and focused picture.

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<v Eric>If you're off by just a little bit, you'll get lost.

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<v Eric>You'll get distracted.

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<v Eric>You won't be able to take a clear image

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<v Eric>and you'll get frustrated.

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<v Eric>And the goal of this podcast

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<v Eric>is to help you guys find the groups near you,

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<v Eric>to let them talk about themselves,

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<v Eric>to let them advertise the events they have going on.

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<v Eric>Do you realize there's a star party near you

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<v Eric>happening almost every single day

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<v Eric>or at least every week?

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<v Eric>Within 30 miles of you probably is a star party

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<v Eric>where you can go and meet these individual people

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<v Eric>who want nothing more than to share their fun with you.

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<v Eric>Now with that said,

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<v Eric>I wanna talk to you guys about what the future episodes

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<v Eric>are gonna be like for back focus.

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<v Eric>I wanna talk specifically about astronomy clubs,

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<v Eric>observatories, telescope makers,

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<v Eric>astrophotographers, outreach volunteers,

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<v Eric>educators, beginners, experienced observers,

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<v Eric>astronomy events, public star parties,

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<v Eric>and all that kind of fun stuff.

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<v Eric>While space news is interesting,

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<v Eric>it's not the core of what astronomy is about.

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<v Eric>The core of what astronomy is about

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<v Eric>are the people behind the telescopes.

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<v Eric>They are the ones that matter.

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<v Eric>Their experience matters.

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<v Eric>And you're the one who's out there

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<v Eric>who's able to make their experience worth doing.

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<v Eric>I can't tell you the number of times

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<v Eric>I've almost given up and gone home without a picture.

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<v Eric>And somebody else said, hey Eric,

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<v Eric>hang on a second, let me give you a hand.

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<v Eric>We were able to get my gear set up

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<v Eric>and I was able to come out with a phenomenal photo.

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<v Eric>That happens all the time.

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<v Eric>And it's something I wanna see the rest of our groups do.

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<v Eric>Invite each other to your clubs,

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<v Eric>talk to them, help them through their problems,

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<v Eric>and you know what, we're gonna have a community.

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<v Eric>That's what this is all about.

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<v Eric>So I want to invite you.

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<v Eric>Are you part of an astronomy club?

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<v Eric>Do you run a public outreach for astronomy?

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<v Eric>Have you built your own telescope?

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<v Eric>Have you built your own observatory?

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<v Eric>Do you have access to a really cool one?

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<v Eric>Do you have a story that's worth sharing?

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<v Eric>I would love to have you on this show.

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<v Eric>I wanna talk to you.

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<v Eric>Thank you so much for listening

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<v Eric>to my very first episode of Backfocus.

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<v Eric>If you enjoyed today's episode,

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<v Eric>please subscribe, share it with your astronomy club,

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<v Eric>and help us build a stronger astronomy community.

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<v Eric>Until next time, keep looking up and stay focused.