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Short Visit to the Moon

Posted: 14 March 2017

On my previous session I noticed that the eyepiece holder on my Meade 2" diagonal had come slightly loose again. That last happened in December 2015. On Monday, 13 March 2017, I removed one of the diagonal covers and tightened two hidden setscrews:

photo

Problem solved. I also took the opportunity to blow out some dust that had settled on the diagonal mirror and inside the diagonal housing.

I was late opening the observatory on Monday night as I and my wife had dinner in Tucson with the Executive Dean of the Indiana University College of Arts and Sciences, my alma mater, and his family. They were in Tucson for a visit.

Open: Monday, 13 March 2017, 2122 MST
Temperature: 70°F
Session: 1085
Conditions: Clear

Equipment Used:
12" f/8 LX600 w/StarLock
2" 24mm UWA eyepiece
2" 30mm eyepiece
2" 9mm 100° eyepiece

Camera:
iPhone 6s Plus

2127 MST: LX600 ON, StarLock OFF, High Precision OFF.

Viewed the waning gibbous Moon, 102X.

Switched to the 30mm eyepiece and took this handheld photo of the Moon, iPhone 6s Plus, afocal 81X, using the iOS app NightCap Pro (ISO 25, 1/900sec):


photo

Then did some lunar observing, 271X. Seeing was not very good this night. Did not attempt any high magnification imaging due to the poor seeing.

2144 MST: Jupiter was now visible just above the hill to the southeast, but it was still behind a tree. Viewed it at 271X, but the view was very fuzzy from the view through the tree limbs. The four Galilean Moons were visible though. The view was better at 102X; I could see the North and South Equatorial Belts in Jupiter's atmosphere.

I then began closing up for the night.

Close: Monday, 13 March 2017, 2200 MST
Temperature: 67°F
Session Length: 0h 38m
Conditions: Clear


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