Open: Thursday, 27 September 2018, 1809 MST Temperature: 84°F

Session: 1283 Conditions: Clear

Equipment Used:
12" f/8 LX600 w/StarLock
2" 24mm UWA eyepiece
2" 4X Powermate
1.25" 26mm eyepiece

Camera:
iPhone 8 Plus

1815 MST: sunset.

Restocked the live trap with fresh food in my attempt to capture a packrat that has been at the observatory.

1822 MST: LX600 ON, StarLock OFF, High Precision OFF.

Viewed Venus, 102X. Nice crescent phase.

Over the next several minutes also viewed Jupiter, Saturn, and Mars at 102X, and Saturn and Mars at 406X. Using the iOS app NightCap Camera, are some handheld iPhone afocal photos of the planets to show how they looked in the eyepiece:

Venus, 102X


Jupiter, 102X


Saturn, 102X


Mars, 102X


Saturn, 406X


Mars, 406X

1900 MST: viewed M17 (Swan Nebula), 102X. I decided to image it and some other Deep Sky Objects with the iPhone once the sky got a little darker. Mounted the iPhone on the 12" telescope with a 1.25" 26mm eyepiece (94X). Used NightCap Camera for these StarLock autoguided images.

1919 MST: StarLock ON.

M17 (Swan Nebula), 94X


M20 (Trifid Nebula), 94X


M8 (Lagoon Nebula), 94X

1928 MST: StarLock OFF.

Viewed M8 (Lagoon Nebula), 94X.

1956 MST: StarLock ON.

Took this StarLock autoguided image, NightCap Camera (ISO 8448, 1/3sec, 1 minute exposure).

M13 (Great Globular Cluster in Hercules), afocal 94X

2002 MST: StarLock OFF.

I continue to be amazed by Deep Sky Object astrophotography using the iPhone and NightCap Camera.

The eastern sky was beginning to brighten from the rising waning gibbous Moon.

Viewed M13 (globular cluster), 102X.

2008 MST: LX600 OFF.

Close: Thursday, 27 September 2018, 2020 MST Temperature: 75°F

Session Length: 2h 11m Conditions: Clear

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