Open: Thursday, 17 December 2015, 1808 MST Temperature: 48°F

Session: 898 Conditions: Clear

Surprisingly, some snow and ice were still on the ground and pathway from Monday's 1" snowfall. Unusual for it to remain this long here.

1815 MST: viewed the Moon at 83X and 166X. Nice views along the terminator. Then set up for 8" LX200-ACF prime focus imaging using the D7200 DSLR. This is a 1/400sec, ISO 1600, exposure:

I always enjoy looking at the northern section of the Moon. Through the eyepiece you get an appearance of looking across the top of a globe. This image, prime focus + 2X PowerMate, 1/400sec, ISO 5000, sort of gives that effect:

The shadows of Montes Caucasus were impressive this night. This image, 1/400sec, ISO 5000, cropped from a full-size image at prime focus + 2X PowerMate, shows the mountain range and the shadows:

I removed the camera from the telescope and did some more lunar observing, 222X.

1850 MST: did some more testing of the newly released iOS app SkySafari 5 Pro. My review will be posted soon.

1922 MST: completed the tests and resumed lunar observing, 222X. By 1932 MST, breezes had come up and seeing was deteriorating. Took a final look at the Moon, 83X, then began closing up for the night.

After I closed the dome I noticed that some snow/ice was still on the dome:

Close: Thursday, 17 December 2015, 1942 MST Temperature: 41°F

Session Length: 1h 34m Conditions: Clear, breezy

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