I delayed going out to the observatory as I planned to photograph the United Launch Alliance Delta IV Heavy launch from Vandenberg Air Force Base, California. Unfortunately, a few minutes before launch it was scrubbed for a technical reason. It was rescheduled to Thursday evening, which is supposed to be the last clear night for awhile. However I will be at an Oracle School Board meeting that evening to discuss the Mountain Vista School Model Rocket Program that I started there. So I will miss the launch if it happens Thursday. I had previously tried to catch the launch on 8 December but that too was scrubbed for a different technical reason. And a 17 December launch was scrubbed early due to high wind.

Open: Wednesday, 19 December 2018, 1903 MST Temperature: 60°F

Session: 1317 Conditions: Clear

Equipment Used:
12" f/8 LX600 w/StarLock
2" 24mm UWA eyepiece
2" 30mm UWA eyepiece
1.25" 26mm eyepiece

Camera:
D850 DSLR
iPhone 8 Plus

1908 MST: LX600 ON, StarLock OFF, High Precision OFF.

Viewed the waxing gibbous Moon, 102X.

Set up the D850 DSLR on the observatory patio:

This is a photograph of the Moon projected onto the observatory dome at 102X magnification from the 12" telescope. It was taken with the D850 DSLR, f/8, 10 seconds, ISO 3200, focal length 35mm.

I enjoy doing these "Moon on Dome" photos. You can see more "Moon on Dome" photos with the Moon at different phases on the Observatory album page.

I returned to the observatory and viewed the Moon, 81X. Took this handheld iPhone 8 Plus afocal 81X photo with NightCap Camera (ISO 22, 1/3200sec):

Next, I used SkySafari 6 Pro on the iPhone and the Stella Wi-Fi Adapter to GOTO Asteroid (6) Hebe. I hoped to image the asteroid with the iPhone 8 Plus. I took StarLock autoguided afocal 94X images at 2003 MST and 2103 MST using NightCap Camera (Long Exposure, Light Boost, ISO 8448, 1/3sec, 1 minute exposures). Unfortunately, I was not able to capture the faint asteroid.

2109 MST: LX600 OFF.

Close: Wednesday, 19 December 2018, 2115 MST Temperature: 51°F

Session Length: 2h 12m Conditions: Clear

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