I opened the observatory Thursday, 29 December, at 1809 MST, 63°F. Began observing the moon at 1813 MST at 77X, 133X, and 206X. Like the past several nights, seeing was not good. I picked out a high magnification imaging target on the moon: the craters Atlas and Hercules. Switched to the visual back and set up for 8" LX200-ACF prime focus imaging with the D7000 DSLR.

This is a 1/320sec, ISO 800, exposure:

Atlas and Hercules are visible near the right edge (north) of the image.

I then added a 9mm (222X) eyepiece and began a series of exposures of the two craters. This image was taken using the "Hat Trick" method, ISO 800, showing the Crater Atlas (large crater at center) and the Crater Hercules (just above Atlas):

At 1851 MST, I ended imaging, switched back to the diagonal, and went to Jupiter. Four moons were visible. Viewed at 77X, 133X, and 206X. I then returned to the moon for some more lunar observing at 206X, 133X, and 77X. Seeing was still not very good. An inversion layer over southern Arizona has been the cause of the poor seeing this week. I decided to close, making this a short session.

Closed the observatory at 1920 MST, 56°F.

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