Telescope tests; Weather Updates;
Full Moon & Jupiter
Posted: 30 April 2018
Wednesday, 18 April 2018, was clear, hazy, and breezy. I did not open the observatory that night due to Thursday being a long activity filled day that would start early. During the day I cleaned the optics of the Scope 60mm refractor (focal length 700mm), donated to the Friends of Oracle State Park. After sunset I set up the refractor for some crescent Moon observing tests. I had previously tested this telescope on Monday, 9 April. Here's the refractor set up up in front of the observatory, along with two handheld iPhone photos of the Moon using the zoom eyepiece that came with the telescope:
Thursday, 19 April, was partly cloudy, windy, and dusty. Friday, 20 April, was clear but breezy. That evening I attended a Volunteer Appreciation Event at Oracle State Park (where I'm a volunteer). The breezes died down after sunset and a star party was held at the Park.
Saturday, 21 April, was mostly cloudy. Sunday, 22 April, was partly cloudy. During the day I attended a special showing of SkyGlow, held at The Loft Cinema in Tucson and hosted by the International Dark-Sky Association. Monday, 23 April, started clear but the clouds that were forecast to arrive late that night actually arrived about noon. The same pattern repeated on Tuesday, 24 April, along with strong breezes. Grumble. The forecast for Wednesday, 25 April, was for a clear sky, but of course the sky was cloudy, which continued through Friday, 27 April. Saturday, 28 April, dawned clear, but of course, the sky turned mostly cloudy by mid-afternoon with strong winds by sunset. The sky cleared at night but the winds stayed too strong to open the observatory.
Cloudy skies and strong winds continued on Sunday, 29 April. The Moon was precisely Full at 1757 MST. 2120 MST: took this D850 DSLR handheld photo of Jupiter (far left) and the just past Full Moon about 7° apart through thin clouds, f/16, 1/200sec, ISO 1600, FL 165mm:
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