Short Session, Sun Pillar; StarGPS-NX02 Review; Interview
Posted: 4 April 2013
The observatory was opened Wednesday, 3 April 2013, at 1818 MST, 84°F. There were clouds in the west, with partly cloudy skies in the forecast for the night. At 1830 MST, about 15 minutes before sunset, I slewed the 8" LX200-ACF to the star Sirius. It was visible in the 26mm eyepiece (77X) and in the Antares 7x50 finderscope. I had bumped the finderscope on the previous night and so I needed to spend some time realigning it. Since Sirius was visible, I figured this was a good time to do the alignment. The clouds made it somewhat a challenge though as they occasionally hid the star.
Sunset was pretty:
A sun pillar can be seen in the photo above. Here's another photo, taken about 90 seconds later, showing the sun pillar:
I finally able to complete the finderscope alignment at 1900 MST. Slewed to Jupiter and viewed it, the Great Red Spot, and three moons, 77X. The clouds really hampered the view.
I checked a satellite IR image and there were two bands of clouds coming my way. The prospects did not look good for my planned faint object imaging this night. I decided to close up. The forecast for Thursday night is for overcast skies, but Friday night should be clear.
The observatory was closed at 1925 MST, 67°F.
My PixSoft StarGPS-NX02 review is now available on my ETX Site.
I was interviewed by PicStop in the UK. You can read the interview here.
Comments are welcome; use the Comments section below, or you can Email Me. Thanks.
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