NGC 7000 - ZWO ASI585MC Air First Light

June 20, 2026

Setup and polar alignment for the portable astro rig was super fast. I was using the bluetooth connection to the AM3N mount, but switched to USB (short USB C to A cable from the back of the saddle to the 585MC Air). North America nebula (NGC 7000) is always a good bright test target for a new camera (when M42 or M31 aren't available). Clouds moved in around 2:30 in the morning and I ended up with 81 x 120-second clean subs, no calibration frames, no filters (other than the built-in UV/IR cut). So, this is pretty close to real color as captured by the camera, the stars and a nice mix of hydrogen-alpha and oxygen 3 (ionized oxygen). The "Cygnus Wall" is well-defined. I ran the ASI585MC at -10C with a gain of 250 at the low noise drop. #astrophotography #astronomy #night #space

The articulated arm in the from holds my phone for polar alignment. The battery is the ECO-WORTHY Portable 12V 20Ah (https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0GXVL4JRF). I'm still testing it out, to see if I can run this rig the whole night with 20AH capacity--okay so far. We'll see how it does in the winter with longer colder nights. The size and weight are perfect and it has a 5.5mm x 2.5mm jack for power and charging. The whole setup runs on one 12v line from the battery to the AM3. I have a bag just for the tripod and the polar alignment arm. Everything else fits in a backpack.